Damn, nature never seizes to amaze me!
Just check out this little fucker I learnt about today, that looks like a crazy wasp / praying mantis hybrid. Yet it's related to neither as it belongs to Neuroptera
Scientifically described as Climaciella brunnea, it occurs in Canada, the United States, and as far south as Nicaragua. Not surprisingly, some of its common names are wasp mantidfly, western mantidfly, and brown mantidfly.
Like mantises they have raptorial forelegs that look and function almost the same, allowing it to attack and catch smaller bugs and shit, a result of convergent evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. source
And as you can see, it also employs the trick of mimicry to discourage potential predators. Who wants to mess with wasps after all? I know I don't 😂
It even mimics the stinging of a wasp:
The mantidfly holds the tip of its abdomen vertically as it begins to move itself in a back and forth motion
Worry not though, this is just a bluff as they have no sting and they are pretty harmless to humans
Another cool thing about them is how they hitchhike spiders during the larval stage
First instar larvae of this species are campodeiform and will use phoretic behavior in an attempt to find an adult spider. C. brunnea specializes on Lycosid spiders. The larvae have a unique adaptation known as a caudal sucker that they use to attach themselves to the substrate of their habitat. Once attached, they will lift themselves and begin to wave their body back and forth for a short period of time. Afterwards, if they have not grabbed onto a passing spider they will briefly rest before resuming their phoretic behavior. sourc
Overall, a pretty interesting and unique critter with many tricks up its sleeve. Here's a link to Wikipedia if you want to learn more about them!
And here's one final video:
What a ridiculous creature 😲
