Bug FAQGreen Mantisfly
Zeugomantispa minuta · Order: Neuroptera · Family: Mantispidae
Zeugomantispa minuta lives in the Caribbean, Central, North and South America. It catches prey with its forelegs like other mantises. Its larvae are parasitoids that are placed inside spider egg sacs.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The species deposits its parasitoid larvae into spider egg sacs.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
It uses its forelegs to capture prey, similar to praying mantises.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The larvae are parasitoids that are deposited in spider egg sacs.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 35 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Pennsylvania.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Where does Zeugomantispa minuta live?
It occurs in the Caribbean, Central America, North America and South America.
Source: Wikipedia
What does Zeugomantispa minuta eat?
It catches prey with its forelegs like other mantises.
Source: Wikipedia
How do the larvae develop?
The larvae are parasitoids that are placed inside spider egg sacs.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Mantispidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeugomantispa_minuta
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.