Brown Wasp Mantidfly

Appearance

''Climaciella brunnea'' has a body length of 2 to 3 cm. Its markings mimic a social wasp.

Distribution

''Climaciella brunnea'' is found in Canada and the United States.

Behavior

As with most mantidflies, this species is parasitic to spiders as larva: the eggs of wolf spiders are their preferred host and larva will get themselves wrapped up with the eggs in the sac by the spider, since they cannot break into the sacs themselves. If the spider hasn't yet laid eggs, the larva will subsist on the spider's blood until then. Once inside the sac the larva will feast on the eggs until it pupates.