Mantid Lacewing I - Ditaxis biseriata

Family Mantispidae

This page contains pictures and information about Mantid Lacewing I that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Body length 30mm

Mantid Lacewings are active predators, chasing prey, usually small insects, with their spiny forelegs.



This Mantid Lacewing has the pinkish wings each with a pink pterostigma. We found the above lacewing in our backyard on 2004.



This Mantid Lacewing is common in Brisbane. We found them in Brisbane bushlands a few times in different seasons.



Their raptorial forelegs are powerful for predating. The coax is extremely elongated. The femur bears spines long and short along ventral margin. Their last two pairs of legs are long for fast prey attack action.

Reference:
1. Insects of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 533.
2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p319.
3. Wildlife of greater Brisbane - Queensland Museum, p99.
4. Ditaxis biseriata - Australian Faunal Directory, Australian Biological Resources Study.
5. A revision of the Australian Mantispidae (Insecta : Neuroptera) with a contribution to the classification of the family. I. General and Drepanicinae - KJ Lambkin, Australian Journal of Zoology Supplementary Series 34(116) 1 - 142, 1986.
6. Lacewings - Queensland Museum, 2011.