Halloween is over, but apparently some people still have the stomach for a few more scary things this month, which might explain this video of a ridiculously terrifying mantid fly. The words "mantid fly" sound totally harmless, which is appropriate, because these insects actually are friendly and not dangerous. That, however, does nothing to stop them from looking like something that might get sent down in an apocalyptic plague. Mantid flies are known for looking like a cross between a wasp and a preying mantis, the former of which has a sting that makes full grown adults wail in agony, so logically Kern decided when he saw this beast chilling out on his grill that he was going to catch it and keep it in his house for several days.
I'm actually a little touched by their budding friendship. That little dude has wings and could have flown away any of the times Kern fed him, but he still stuck around (this might not be a "he" bug at all, but Kern named him "Tyler Durdan" and that sounds like a boy's name so I'm just going to roll with it). The mantid fly chilled with him for 4 days, either because they were becoming bros or because Kern was constantly feeding him dead flies that he caught, because apparently Kern is better at casually catching bugs than any person I've ever met.
Alas, all good things must end, and even Tyler Durdan the mantid fly had to move on with his life. Maybe someday he and his deadly looking scissor arms will return and their friendship will ignite anew. Until then you can take a look at their blossoming friendship and catch sight of the bug that will probably haunt your dreams in this awesomely shot and very informative video:
Image: Ed Kern/YouTube
