Start / Insects for Fun! / Is it a mantis wasp fly its a mantidfly

Is it a mantis? Wasp? Fly? It's a Mantidfly!

32 min • 28 juli 2025

This week, we're taking a deep look into the oddities that make mantidflies so unique. This includes their bizarre life cycle, and of course their strange adaptations which make them unique hunters in the insect world.

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Email: Insectsfordummies@gmail.com

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Music by "Blue Wednesday"

Senaste avsnitt

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13 februari 2024 | 10 min

Harlequin Beetles! (Acrocinus longimanus)

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Nature's Grave Diggers! (Sexton Beetles)

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Is it a mantis? Wasp? Fly? It's a Mantidfly!

Senaste avsnitt

Is it a mantis? Wasp? Fly? It's a Mantidfly!

Are we screwed? (Screwworms)

Tiny Creatures, BIG legends!

Mighty Mites!

Tiny Insect Imposters! (Springtails)

Freshwater Goblins? (Dobsonflies!)

Carnivorous Caterpillars!

Gall Wasps!

Lobster Moths!

Cave Dwelling Insects!

Insects that live in extreme heat!

Insects that use tools!

Rainbow Stag Beetles!

Is it a giant bumblebee or a goddess? (Bombus Dahlbomii)

Underwater Spiders! (Diving Bell Spider)

New Blue Ants and the Medical Techniques of Florida Carpenter Ants!

Mole Crabs!

When you've got lemons in NZ, you probably have "lemon tree borers"

The European Ground Beetle (Carabus coriaceus)

The Dubious Dubia Roach!

Oil Beetles!

The longest legged arthropod! (Japanese spider crabs)

The silkmoth that squeaks! (Rhodinia fugax)

The Devil's Idol Mantis! (Devil's Flower Mantis)

Yellow Crazy Ants!

The fastest land insects have a secret that no other beetles can use!

Interview with entomologist, artist, and author Barrett Klein (New Book: The Insect Epiphony)

Joro Spiders! (The new spiders on the block)

Spotted Lanternflies! (what we now know)

Tortoise Beetles!

Jumping Spiders! (Cutest Spiders?)

Leaf Miners!

Trilobites! The prehistoric rolly pollys of the sea.

Carnivorous Plants!

Patreon Episode: A two day delay beetle, ants that make lions lose their game, and more!

Hermit Crabs! (are they actually hermits?)

Cherry Shrimps! (Neocaridina davidi)

Giant Wood Moths! (Heaviest Moth)

Goliath Beetles!

Swallowtail Butterflies! (An Overview)

Paper Wasps!

Urban Entomology! (Insects in the city and more...)

Sea Slaters/Wharf Roaches!

Millipedes!

Centipedes!

These skippers skipped the Butterflies 101 lecture (Skipper Butterflies)

It's Tony the Tiger Beetle!? (Tiger Beetles)

Insect culture in Japan and why it's so good!

We get it, these butterflies are white! (Cabbage White Butterflies)

Oh yes, Katy did! (Katydids/Bush Crickets)

Me oh My oh Mayfly! (Mayflies/Shadflies/Fishflies)

Green Lacewings! aka Aphid Lions

Horseshoe Crabs! Wait...they aren't actually crabs?

Patreon Episode: Butterfly memories, the decision making of insects, native plants on insect diversity and more!

Harvestmen/Daddy Long Legs!

Isopods as Pets 101!

These cats could send you to the hospital! (Puss Caterpillars)

Harlequin Beetles! (Acrocinus longimanus)

Compost Companions! (top 3 critters that love eating your leftovers)

Nature's Grave Diggers! (Sexton Beetles)

Giraffe Weevils!

Insects that don’t lay eggs!? (live birthing insects and how they do it)

Prehistoric Insects! When they appeared, what they were like and why they’re gone..

Christmas Beetles!

Bed Bugs 101!

Tarantula Hawks!

These violins can walk? (Violin Beetles)

Sea Monkeys! What the heck are they anyway?

This one’s a stinker! (Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs)

Are insects Crustaceans? Are Lobsters just Roaches of the sea?

Insect Horror Stories: 2

The most misunderstood centipede! (House centipede)

Insect Horror Stories: 1

Why we hate Cockroaches and why it’s justified!

The North American moon moth! (Actias Luna)

Secrets of the sand trap (Antlions)

Natural born divers! (Predacious Diving Beetles)

I can’t believe they’re not wasps! (sesiidae clearwing moths)