Say's Mantidfly

 

As always, click the image to enlarge

This oddity is a Say's Mantidfly (Dicromantispa sayi). It's as if the thing was assembled by a mad scientist: part lacewing, with the body of a paper wasp, the forelegs of a praying mantis, and the beak of a bird, with giant jewels for eyes. Its life cycle is equally bizarre, involving hitching rides as larvae on female spiders, then preying on her eggs. Mantidflies are occasional nocturnal visitors to moth sheets and will sometimes prey on small moths and other insects when they appear. Glenn Crisler put much effort into wrangling this one for photos ops, with success. Mothapalooza, Pike County, Ohio, July 20, 2024.