Dicromantispa Mantidfly vs Giant Lacewing

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Dicromantispa Mantidfly	Giant Lacewing
Scientific Name	Dicromantispa sayi	Polystoechotes punctata
Order	Neuroptera	Neuroptera
Family	Mantispidae	Ithonidae
Size	18-28 mm wingspan	40-75 mm wingspan
Habitat	Forests	Rivers & Streams
Diet	Omnivores	Omnivores
Regions	Eastern North America	North America
Conservation	Least Concern	Endangered

Dicromantispa Mantidfly

A brown mantidfly found across eastern North America in forested habitats. Named after the eminent entomologist Thomas Say.

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Did You Know?

Females lay thousands of eggs on stalks, but only larvae that find spider egg sacs survive.

Giant Lacewing

Once widespread across North America, it vanished from the eastern US by the 1950s. A single specimen was rediscovered in Walmart parking lot in Arkansas in 2012 after 50 years.

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Did You Know?

This giant lacewing was thought extinct in eastern North America for 50 years — until a single specimen was collected at a Walmart parking lot in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2012.