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The stuff of nightmares! Insect that looks like a wasp but crawls like a praying mantis is captured devouring a fly (after ripping off its prey's legs)

YouTube user Ed Kern captured a mantidfly and filmed it eating a small fly
Video shows the wasp-like insect grasping its prey in its front legs, which resemble those of a praying mantis, and delicately eating it like a corn cob
Predator uses its mandibles to bite, cut and hold its dinner like a mantis
Sci-fi-esque animals are quite common in the US and the tropics

Published: 07:02 EST, 27 August 2015 | Updated: 08:07 EST, 27 August 2015

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If you have a fear of creepy crawlies, you may want to approach with caution.

A YouTube user has captured a mantidfly, which looks like a wasp but has the front legs, sharp jaws and bulging eyes of a praying mantis, tucking into a small fly.

The video shows the active hunter feasting on the fly's body, which it holds in its front legs and nibbles on like a human stripping a cob of corn or a pork rib.

A video shows the a mantidfly (pictured) feasting on a fly, which it holds in its front legs and nibbles on delicately from one end of its body to another, like a human stripping a corn cob, for example

Utah resident Ed Kern kept the insect captive for four days so he could film it, even nicknaming the strange-looking fly Tyler Durden, after a character from Fight Club.

‘Tyler is not afraid of anything, you can pick him up and he doesn't even react,’ Mr Kern said.

‘I fed him about a half dozen flies before I let him go.

‘I only saw him fly once, and that is when he flew away, never to be seen again.’

While the exact species of mantidfly in the video is not clear, it is one of many to mimic a wasp, presumably to disguise its fearsome front legs and superior hunting method.

Utah resident Ed Kern kept the insect captive for four days so he could film it, even nicknaming the strange-looking fly Tyler Durden, after a character from Fight Club. Here, the mantidfly shows its distinctive front legs which it uses for grasping prey

MANTIDFLIES VS SPIDERS

The larvae of some mantidflies feed on the egg sacs of spiders.

They find and 'board' spiders then enter the egg sac while it’s under construction.

One inside, they pierce and drain eggs with their modified mandibles.

It’s not known whether they have a way of seeking out spiders from a distance, or whether it is a matter of luck, because female spiders regularly produce egg clutches containing up to a thousands eggs.

They also feed on spider ‘blood’ while aboard adult spiders.

It has patterns on its four wings and a stripy body to appear like a wasp, although looks considerably larger.

Mantidflies grow to 1.9 inches (5cm) long and tend to be nocturnal.

In the video, the insect can be seen pulling itself along Mr Kern’s finger with its raptorial front legs, which have distinctive protruding tibial spines like a praying mantis.

The praying mantis gets its name because it holds its front legs aloft as if folded in prayer, waiting to catch a fly that lands in front of it, for example.

The mantidfly can be seen adopting a similar pose in the video and can also grab hapless smaller insects at lightning speed and grasp them in its distinctive forearms.

The footage also reveals how the scary-looking animal devours a fly - first by pulling off its legs, then manipulating it in its mantis-like front legs, so it can nibble along the fly’s body with ease.

Mantidflies, from the Mantispidae family, feed on smaller insects.

It has patterns on its four wings and a stripy body to appear like a wasp (left), although looks considerably larger. The praying mantis (right) gets its name because it holds its front legs aloft as if folded in prayer waiting to catch a fly that lands in front of it. The mantidfly can be seen adopting a similar pose in the video

Mantidflies (pictured), from the Mantispidae family, feed on smaller insects. They have a pair of sharp mandibles, like the famous praying mantis, that are used for biting, cutting and holding food

They have a pair of sharp mandibles, like the famous praying mantis, that are used for biting, cutting and holding food.

They also have the mantis’ compound bulging eyes that work together to give it a keen sense of vision.

While the creature may look as though it escaped from a sci-fi film, there are actually 400 types of mantidflies, which are relatively common in North America and in the tropics.

There are five species living in Europe.

While the creature may look as thought it escaped from a sci-fi film, there are actually 400 types of mantidflies which are relatively common in North America and in the tropics. Here, the insect feasts on a fly