''Ochthera mantis'', the mantis fly, is a shore fly (family

Ephydridae Ephydridae (shore fly, sometimes brine fly) is a family of insects in the order Diptera. Shore flies are tiny flies that can be found near seashores or at smaller inland waters, such as ponds. About 2,000 species have been described worldwide, in ...

). The species was first described by

Charles De Geer Baron Charles de Geer (the family is usually known as De Geer with a capitalized "De" and is pronounced "de yer"); Finspång in Risinge 30 January 1720 – Stockholm 7 March 1778) was a Swedish industrialist and entomologist. Life De Geer, w ...

in 1776. It is a

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...

species with a limited distribution in Europe."''Ochthera mantis'' (De Geer, 1776)"
''

Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infras ...

''. Retrieved November 17, 2020.

Biology

''Ochthera mantis'' is a predatory fly found primarily on sandy or muddy shores, with the also predatory larvae being aquatic.

References

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"Mantis Fly ''Ochthera mantis'' (De Geer 1776)"
''Encyclopedia of Life''. Retrieved November 17, 2020. Ephydridae Insects described in 1776 Diptera of North America Diptera of Europe Taxa named by Charles De Geer {{Ephydroidea-stub