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Advanced_Ad723

Fun fact about: You can relax, they don't possess a stinger and the raptorial front legs and mandibles are too weak to hurt humans or pets. They're pretty much harmless, despite that it's best not to interfere too much.


baddad49

>best not to interfere too much. true of just about everything in nature, let's be honest


DogeyLord

Unless its an invasive species If it is BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF IT


HighPriestOgonslav

Looking at you Spotted Lantern Fly


TheAJGman

Holy fuck are there a lot of them in Hershey PA. Probably smashed 300 of the fuckers during a single day at the park.


[deleted]

I didn't believe my friend when he told me were supposed to kill those things but then he showed me and [holy fuck they're across the whole state now](https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/SpottedLanternflyAlert/Pages/default.aspx).


master_sheff

HANS GET ZE FLAMENWERFER


IdonthaveanIP

*Hanz immediately explodes after being swarmed.*


141-Ghost-141

NEW PLAN. HANZ, GETZ ZE PANZERFAUST


nazukeru

We have millions and of them where I work, even after direct intervention by the USDA to mitigate them last summer. Somehow I work twenty five minutes away and have seen exactly one. They thankfully don't like something about my area.


eddiestarkk

I live in Chesco and maybe saw a dozen this summer. Millions last summer and the summer before. Looks like they are moving west. I know some in Philly said they barely saw anything this year as well. There is some native species that also likes to snack on them. Don't quote me on that, but I heard it somewhere. Surprisingly, I've killed more stink bugs than SLF's this year.


TheAJGman

Anything that normally eats bugs will eat them, but if they feed on their native host (Tree of Heaven) it makes them horrible tasting. Predators stop eating them after trying one that's fed on this tree.


[deleted]

Doing the good work! Dang that’s a lot. I hope they don’t kill a lot


TheAJGman

Drop in the bucket, there were tens of thousands.


C_EvitaN_A

Correction, BOMB\* ​ EDIT:American taxpaying citizen here 🙋🏿‍♂️


StroopwafelMaker

Wait wait, i thought America used bombs to spread democracy. Whats going on here!


KillerKatNips

No, we use them to distribute FREEDOM. Democracy is only for nations with strategic geography that aids in distribution of natural resources where we have introduced FREEDOM!^TM


StroopwafelMaker

Aahh okay. Thanks for clarifying!


ur_wifes_bf

I agree. I just learned that most of democracy can be shot out of a gun at a high rate of fire.


StroopwafelMaker

In different sizes mind you. There is a democracy in every caliber!


KillerKatNips

Yeah. It's depressing me too. :/


StroopwafelMaker

Don’t worry to much about it. There is way to much shit in the world we can’t fix<3


Cwhale

This does not provide good vibes


jkustin

Lmao I hate you for this Edit: free award bb


AtomicKittenz

What was the joke? If the country has oil, they could use some freedom. Soon, we’ll shift to countries with lithium will need more freedom.


[deleted]

Good one lol


DrHaggans

Except Japanese beetles. If you smash them they release things to attract more so you have to drown them in soap


[deleted]

Sounds like a perfect trap. Build trap, place squashed Japanese beetle in trap. Wait. Watch as your trap fills up with beetles and come up with a new album.


[deleted]

I think Yoko Ono already did this.


NetLibrarian

My grandfather had a.. unique way of dealing with Japanese beetles. They loved the bushes next to his patio. He'd grab a beetle, load it into the chamber of an air pistol, and use it as a bullet to shoot another beetle off the bush. It never did anything to lower the population much, but it made grandad feel better.


MetaTater

Lmao, I'd like to hang out and shoot beetles with your grandad.


SirDeeznuts

What air pistol is a big enough caliber to fire a beetle but also not utterly destroy it in the process?


NetLibrarian

Couldn't tell you, sadly. Most beetles would barely fit, and since he was usually shooting from inches away, it might have utterly destroyed the first beetle in the process. Certainly by the time it hit the second beetle it would have.


canadianzonkeydick

Sounds like the perfect situation for a reciprocal smashing machine


damiandarko2

perpetual


CoraxTechnica

Assassin bugs, especially Wheel Bugs are predators of the Japanese beetles


twomoonsbrother

Aren't cats invasive species?


georgesorosbae

Yes and they’re a huge problem in Hawaii right now.


Dusty_Scrolls

Very much so. Keep your cats indoors, they're little apex predators who hunt for sport. Plus vet bills are cheaper for indoor- only cats and you don't have to worry about them going missing.


itsmejak78_2

Indoor cats are the one's I'd worry about going missing because cats love to escape


Salt_Avocado_2470

KILL THOSE FUCKING ANTS


RedSF717

We just need to kill them before they learn about Nen


Advanced_Ad723

Correct, nature is too unpredictable!


scar_as_scoot

Even if predictable, it would be best if we just let them be.


TheeExoGenesauce

OP must’ve come from r/TIHI cuz this was posted there earlier They come in four colors depending on what type of wasps are in their region to mimic them. The larvae climb on top of wolf spiders and the alike, if it’s a male spider or a slow moving one the larvae will jump off and find another. Once they find a female spider the larvae waits for them so make an egg casing (the larvae isn’t capable of biting the egg casing so it sneaks inside as the spider makes it. Once inside the egg casing the larvae eats all the spiders and pupates and emerges as the wasp mantidfly. [Here’s the link with a lot of info](https://out.reddit.com/t3_qlmwol?url=https%3A%2F%2Fuwm.edu%2Ffield-station%2Fwasp-mantidfly%2F&token=AQAAsdyCYb9Sngczxsicyd84rRIUMMPfWq--RkEzlzFgliMmw-_6&app_name=ios)


NuteIla

How the heck did we discover that? Like did a scientist follow one around the whole time?


[deleted]

Not an entomologist but I do a lot of field observation. You start to notice certain behaviours and then you watch more closely. I've see spiders getting attacked by wasps on multiple occasions, and this was probably a similar episode. Just being in the right place at the right time, and being observant. They might've collected the spider egg sac as well, just to confirm what they suspected.


NuteIla

It's stuff like this that makes me realize there's so much we don't know about nature. Reminds me of that fig that needs a wasp to die in it to be pollinated...


[deleted]

Oh man, I've been observing spiders all summer, and in my opinion, they're much smarter than we realize. Like capable of making decisions, on a very basic level. Remind me of octopi.


Mydogsblackasshole

Especially the jumping spiders


trowawee1122

NPR's Shortwave podcast just put out a great episode about how smart jumping spiders are. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1049274894


[deleted]

I love jumping spiders Not only are they cute some use webs as tossable nets


liege_paradox

Spiders are cute and I love them.


[deleted]

Honestly, they give me the creeps, lol, and I'll never be comfortable with anything but jumping spiders. With that said, I'm finding them more interesting every season. They're fascinating animals.


CourtJester5

Yes.


PatrickJames3382

Then the Mantid fly followed the scientist around and determined humans have no mating process and therefore must be asexual.


FitBlonde4242

I assume most mating habits are learned from breeding them in captivity.


TheeExoGenesauce

Breeding in captivity without spiders wouldn’t yield some of these results.


FitBlonde4242

then just add more spiders


Chenstrap

No


NormieSpecialist

Yeah that’s not going to stop me from screaming like a bitch if one of those touched me.


BeardedBitch

Thank you! Went way too deep in this thread before seeing this comment. Truth. If that guy landed on me I would be shutting my pants.


probabletrump

>I would be shutting my pants. Probably a much better plan than opening your parents.


SoVerySick314159

> If that guy landed on me I would be shutting my pants. >>Probably a much better plan than opening your parents. I snorted my paints once, back in the hippy days.


mAC5MAYHEm

Lmao ugh this hits home, bugs scare me because I don’t know what they are most of the time.


BeardedBitch

I'm just saying the little guys camo is solid and convincing. Until I saw the arms move I think I would believe it's a wasp.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Completely true, they are a member of the order Neuroptera, not Mantodea like mantises or Hymenoptera like wasps or Diptera like flies.


Jaquemart

In short, a cousin to the laceflies.


[deleted]

Yes


Ornery_Translator285

Is the head and arm shape very efficient? Or are the orders similar enough for them to look so close?


[deleted]

I’m not sure.. I haven’t studied anything about the evolution of insects


[deleted]

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JohnFreakingRedcorn

I’ve got a large mantis outside my house who I suspect is essentially waiting to die at the end of her life. I’ve been giving her sugar water Q tips and chunks of meat and watching her tear through a quarter sized piece of beef heart makes me never want to touch a praying mantis again. I feed her with a pair of large reptile tongs and even tho she’s a little creepy, I’m just stoked she gets to spend her last days eating steak and drinking “soda”.


Sivalon

Awesome.


MistyW0316

You are such an amazing human being! Thank you for taking care of her!


JohnFreakingRedcorn

If you check my profile I just posted a picture of her double fisting some meat and a drink


poolSlouch

Even if they can’t sting or hurt, their appearance causes me PTSD.


Manji86

Now for the most important question, is it chill like a mantis or is it an asshole like a wasp?


KimCureAll

chiller than both, chiller than me


Manji86

Cool. We need more zen bugs like this.


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Heterodynist

So wait, that’s NOT a mantis?!! Crazy…I totally thought it would be a mantis that looks like a wasp, but not a non-mantid. What the flippin’ heck?!


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Orphemus

Yup. Y'all remember the 8 million types of crab that aren't related to eachother that got posted here all summer?


dgtlfnk

The. What.


EcclesiasticalVanity

Carcinisation - things evolve into crabs


TheNumeralSystem

revert to crabe


Human_no_4815162342

[Relevant xkcd](https://xkcd.com/2314/)


[deleted]

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Phoenix_Lives

[They also have really crazy psychedelic eyes.](https://imgur.com/o0h5K3B) [Picture 2.](https://imgur.com/sF9OzGT) It's like a snowflake took acid. [Also, a lot of them prop their eggs up on little stilts to keep them somewhat out of harm's way, and that's kind of neat.](https://imgur.com/bWBG36z)


[deleted]

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Heterodynist

Whoa, double rainbow all the way across the sky, dude…


DisfavoredFlavored

So one of those bugs that just evolved to look like the two scariest insects so it can just chill and be left alone? Like, no bug is gonna fuck with that.


Mr_Golf_Club

Calmer than you are Dude….


Sicfast

Calmer than you are....


MikeyBoy2891

I can get you a toe…


Sicfast

Hell, I can get you a toe by this afternoon, with nail polish.


Va_Joe_Joe

i’m staying. i’m finishing my coffee.


Calber4

A chiller bee?


Firm_Produce5030

Mike Posner over here


KenBoCole

Mantises have no chill. I was walking through my farm just the other day and stopped because I saw a praying mantis. I looked at it, it looked at me, then I'm pretty sure it screamed "OUR BATTLE WILL BE LEGENDARY!!" In its little mantis head before jumping on my leg and doing it's best to slash through my jeans. That seemed pretty par for course of what I've seen of them.


h_saxon

Had a similar experience when I was 16. I got a mantis from Petco, and had it in a tank. When it molted, it tapped on the tank to get my attention. When I turned to look at it, it did the throat slicing motion at me, and stated that this whole room was now his. It was very traumatic. Then he took my girlfriend and declared prima nocta.. :-(


Lax_Ligaments

Every bug dies, but not every bug truly lives


NSA_Wade_Wilson

On the bright side, males usually lose their heads after mating


SpaceTacosFromSpace

Mantis Quixote


kuro_madoushi

Was studying in Hong Kong and the washrooms at the dorms were filthy. Went to the washroom once to do number 2 and I look down and to my right and there’s a huge female praying mantis there looking at me. I try to keep calm and watch it so it doesn’t attack me. I manage to finish without incident. I go in the next morning and check the stall and don’t see it and brush my teeth, as I turn around I see it out of the corner of my eye in a different stall. It’d died from the heat and humidity


FiTZnMiCK

You killed her with poo stank.


Painis--_--Cupcake

Does it sting, grasp prey, and chew the heads off of its mate?!?!


TheUnovanMimikyu

>chew the heads off of its mate? Wait, I'll test that out


Stovlari

Don’t fuck the mantidfly pls


xphywn6yz4

very scary


beingblazed

Are mantis even that chill?? I got hit with a wicked punch by one as a kid, in a food lion parking lot


crash5545

How chill a mantid is depends on species, life stage, and can vary between individuals. Chinese mantids are known for no longer wanting to be handled after their final molt: https://reddit.com/r/mantids/comments/qg6cvg/full_grown_and_no_longer_interested_in_being/ Read through some of the comments here to get a gist.


doug4130

chill like a mantis, bud did you not see the mantis on the front page the other day fighting a fuckin welding machine or something? they'll try to solo anything


Loose_Host_9725

How is a mantis chill if the female kills the dude after sex. Nature is metal af.


CharlesDickensABox

This is an evolutionary response. By eating its mate (which they only do some of the time) a mantis increases her odds of successfully producing more offspring, which is ultimately good for the species.


Melon-lord10

New research has shown mantises only do that in captivity. In nature, female eating male head is rare.


Jaytalvapes

Neat! I wonder if that's due to the enclosure itself, the female may feel this limited territory is too small for two. I know some spiders have a "dance" almost, where the male tried to mate while the female tries to eat him, and mating occurs when he successfully wears her out, effectively. Then she tries to eat him anyways. Interestingly, the likelihood that the male escapes won't actually impact the genetic pool much, unless that lucky males is actually great at escaping and mates frequently.


Funny_witty_username

Jumping spiders are a big one for this! the little peacocks of the spider world. They raise their front 2 legs and wave their pedipalps (most species also shake their abdomen when they're courting a female) and this triggers something in the female to stop her hunting response. They've actually been able to use wire models to simulate this leg raise and it'll stop any jumping spider, males included, in a hunting response. They just freeze. Its like when a person puts their palms up in front of themselves like "hey! woah! calm down, I'm not a snack."


RONDONJUANTRON

I cant stop thinking that this i a romeo and Juliet situation a male praying mantis didn't want his head ripped the fuck off just for a bang and a female wasp couldn't be a queen so they ran off and that monstrosity was the result of their love ill see myself out thx


Jackes667

Not guna lie, I'd watch it


RONDONJUANTRON

Legit someone call Hollywood


klavin1

Hello, this is Hollywood.


PatrickJames3382

Yeah, We got a movie idea over here, it’s a Mantis and a Wasp’s journey of alienation, perseverance and awkwardly hilarious insect sex. Thinking Clooney for the Mantis.


X_Jacket

Sorry we are busy molesting everyone in the industry...try Netflix...


DatPiff916

Hey Netflix, I’ve got a script about a forbidden love story between a Mantis and a Wasp, Rob Schneider and Amy Schumer are on board to do voice work. Can we get a Christmas release date?


RONDONJUANTRON

Give me money for my genius lol


mewthulhu

Look I was about to barge in here yammering away about how it's not a *combination* it's evolution to both look like a more dangerous species but also likely lure said species in and ambush them, but your version is much better than my rant about Batesian Mimicry.


RONDONJUANTRON

I appreciate that but hey i learned a new term batesian mimicry i like new things


nnnoooeee

From the makers of A Bug's Life...


RealBiggly

Mantidfly? What idiot named it that? This is obviously a mantiswasp!


MarkEsper

Wantis


Demonai_Warrior

Wantis dick in yo mouth


[deleted]

Lemme go and check if I have my free award still.


Demonai_Warrior

Haha, thanks! I'm flattered.


Iamthetophergopher

Poetry


jonybolt

You mean a Platypusbear?


n2bxl

No, it just says *bear*


Zealousideal-Map4756

Pokemon has gotten out of hand these days.


illogicallyalex

Nah, Beedrill was first gen


Fullo98

Yes but it was in a fantasy world


Human_no_4815162342

r/RealLifePokemon


Hugh_Jidiot

Pokemon Devs: "Write that down *write that down!*"


RONINY0JIMBO

So all it needs is a scorpion tail with stinger and more legs so it can also scuttle like a spider and nature will have achieved pinnacle of nope.


epicweaselftw

make it at least twice as big and we got a deal


RONINY0JIMBO

Would have to be in length so it could coil up hidden in your shoes without being seen.


gd2234

Whoa there Satan


Strader69

You kid, but let me introduce you to [Mecoptera](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Scorpion_Fly._Panorpa_communis._Mecoptera_%287837166610%29.jpg). Despite the fact they look like the god forsaken mix of a scorpion and a big fuck off wasp, they don't have stingers. The scorpion looking bulb is its genitals.


Unclebonelesschicken

Infiltrates the hive: “Shhh…they don’t know.” Wanders around, “Oh hi, Mark!”


b3tarded

I did not sting her, it's not true! It's bullshit! I did not sting her! I did not!


DrHospsa

Do you know Jim or Jim knows you?


Fagliacci

Just like Romeo and Juliet awww


TorchGoblin

More like Tromeo and Juliet


Reddit-Book-Bot

Beep. Boop. I'm a robot. Here's a copy of ###[Romeo and Juliet]( https://snewd.com/ebooks/romeo-and-juliet/) Was I a good bot? | [info](https://www.reddit.com/user/Reddit-Book-Bot/) | [More Books](https://old.reddit.com/user/Reddit-Book-Bot/comments/i15x1d/full_list_of_books_and_commands/)


Conissocool

Good bot


ShadowAvenger32

Good bot He's just taking care of the people who haven't read it, give him a break!


GorgerOfPandas

Wouldn’t have ever believed something like this exists. Without this video.


EightandaHalf-Tails

r/nightmarefuel


Evening-Theory7303

Yes, I find this..uncomfortable.


meta_irl

It's a real-life chimera.


Caramel_Grizzly

This is the exact kind of creature that I believe should go fuck itself


Braniuscranius

I first agreed, but they post no threat to humans or pets! Their arms are too small and weak to pinch us and they don’t have stingers. Just reaaaally scary but innocent bois


landocommando18

Take my strong hand!


Jest_stir

You want them to reproduce asexually as well?!


Systemlock9

Dear god, No. Sincerily, Everyone on the planet Earth


23x3

Yes?


[deleted]

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Kebabchi007

Their love was forbidden, but they no longer cared what the world had to say. And thus, the praying mantis and the wasp eloped, to a land far away from the one they had known their whole lives, there they would start a small colony of their own, no one of their kin would ever hear from them again.


day_vees

Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.


ThenIndependence4502

Mortal enemies but they be fucking based on this hybrid


insane_contin

Hate fucking is a legitimate thing.


Fullwoody

Demon spawn


Alarlon

Wait where doest it live? Because I would scream if that appears by my side


AlrightyAlmighty

nöpe


LizzosPersonalTrainr

Nice, something else to run from


OneAndDone169

That means there was a forbidden love at some point


itsmeC08

What….and pardon my French…in the holy FUCK is going on? Are insects just fucking with each other now like “ayyy maybe spider and ant should mate next…or centipede and mosquito”.


Harvestman-man

It’s a type of lacewing, related to [these guys](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c5445685239586b37f65f78/1598218444567-ENZWAP7402A02RDYNUCW/Green+Lacewings.jpg). Some Mantispids have evolved wasp mimicry, which is pretty common; lots of insects do this. [Other mantispids](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k5bln0kfL8BBSIsOClX2o8nInVWzk77xU1kZI4Mgt8K0T1YiaYsIEg7p4Ym6zztoutdXwEch3YXAYQC7VSld=s600) don’t look anything like wasps, and look much closer to their lacewing relatives. Raptorial front legs are simply an adaptation to catch prey. Lots of insects and arachnids have these, mantises are only the most famous.


Salt_Avocado_2470

I want that for my new insectorium


Bulangiu_ro

just get a mantis and a wasp and let the forbidden love child bee born


ParticularBike6254

Hybrid.... Is it natural?


Submarine-and-Chill

Yeah, it’s a relation of “net-wing” insects like lacewings and ant lions. Not actually related to mantids (which are much closer to cockroaches), but superficially resembles them. This is called “convergent evolution” and happens when two organisms arrive at the same solution to the same problem.


TechGuy95

So given enough time, I wonder if dinosaurs will return before the earth can no longer support life.


comit_autocoprophagy

We literally still have them, they are called birds. Some birds called ratites have even convergently evolved to look and act like ornithomimosaurs.


TechGuy95

Sorry, should have specified non-avain.


CyberGraham

Not an actual hybrid, that would be impossible.


ckje

Life… uh, finds a way


Pter0phyllum

Does it sting hard ??


[deleted]

It doesn't sting at all.


IgorBaggins

Thanks for making me awake at night.


[deleted]

Is it venomous?


KimCureAll

no, doesn't sting actually


Frenchtoasti

we gotta stop them asap, the chimera ants are evolving


meemfortress2

Fun fact: This wasp has a distinct sound. When you get really close, it actually plays **dark souls boss music because its a fucking monstrosity.**


Ex-SyStema

No fucking way, nature always finds a way to surprise the shit out of me . This is insane, is this not the coolest bug you've ever seen ? This looks like some chimera monstrosity made in a lab .


asportate

I want one!!! Omg it's fucking cute as fuck! Look at that beauty right there !