Home Praying Mantis
Updated for 2023
What’s In This Guide
Description Habitat Diet Breeding Beneficial
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What is a Praying Mantis? The praying mantids, or praying mantises, are carnivorous insects that belong to the family Mantidae. There are about 2,000 species of mantids.
The largest are the Tenodera and the Archimantis, which are six inches long! The smallest praying mantis is the Bolbe pygmaea, which is only 2/5 of an inch, or one centimeter. Unbelievably, some scientists agree that the mantis is closely related to the co*ckroach. The name “mantis” comes from the Greek word for “prophet” or “soothsayer.” The Carolina mantid is a common insect of Eastern United States. The European and Chinese species were introduced to the Northeastern U.S. about 75 years ago as garden predators in hopes of overtaking the native pest population.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Animal
Phylum – Arthropoda
Class – Insecta
Order – Dictyoptera
Family – Mantidae
Genus – Stagomantis
Species – carolina
Description
Praying mantises are about 2/5 to 12 inches, according to species. Their colors vary, ranging from light greens to pinks. Most mantids are pea green or brown. The tropical flower mantises, which resemble flowers, are usually light colors such as pink. Flower mantises, from Africa or the Far East, so closely resemble flowers that insects will often land on them to get nectar.
This insect has a triangular-shaped head with a large compound eye on each side. Praying mantids are the only insect that turn from side to side in a full 180-degree angle. Their eyes are sensitive to the slightest movement up to 60 feet away. They have straight, leathery forewings and very powerful jaws used for devouring its prey. The metathorax, which has ultrasound ears, is located on the thorax. The males have symmetrical genitalia. They have a long prothorax and strong, spiny front legs held together in a praying manner.
Camouflage is very important for the insect’s survival. Because they have so many enemies like birds, they must blend in with their habitat to avoid being eaten. In the bodies of some species of mantis, there is a hollow chamber. It has recently been discovered that these chambers provide the mantis with a means of detecting bats, one of their most feared predators. Apparently, the mantis in flight will drastically change its flight pattern (often hurling to the ground in a spiral) when it hears certain frequencies of sound.
Habitat
Nearly 2,000 species of mantids are widely distributed throughout tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the world. Different species live in many parts of countries such as North and South America, South Africa, Europe, the Southern parts of Asia, and some parts of Australia. Praying mantids in North America are usually green or brown. There are three main types of mantids in Eastern United States: the European mantid (Mantis religiosa), Carolina mantid (Stagmomantis carolina) and Chinese mantid (Tenodera aridifolia sinensis).
Non-native praying mantises were first introduced in the northeastern United States in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia.
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Diet
The praying mantis is a carnivorous insect that takes up a deceptively humble posture when searching for food. When at rest, its front forelegs are held up together in a posture that looks like it is praying. These front legs are equipped with rows of sharp spines used to grasp its prey. They wait unmoving and are almost invisible on a leaf or a stem, ready to catch any insect that passes.
When potential prey comes close enough, the mantis thrusts its pincher-like forelegs forward to catch it. The prey probably won’t escape because the forelegs are so strong and armed with overlapping spines. The mantid bites the neck of its prey to paralyze it and begins to devour it. The mantis almost always starts eating the insect while it is still alive, and almost always starts eating from the insect’s neck. This way, the mantis makes sure that the insect’s struggle stops quickly.
Praying mantises eat insects and other invertebrates like beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, and other mantises. They also eat vertebrates such as small tree frogs, lizards, mice and hummingbirds. These mantids can resemble flowers and can catch small, unknowing hummingbirds and other nesting birds.
Breeding
Breeding season is in the summer in temperate areas. After mating, the female will lay groups of 12-400 eggs in the autumn, in a “frothy” liquid called an “ootheca” that turns into a hard, protective shell. This helps them survive during the wintertime.
Small mantids emerge in the spring. Often, their first meal is a sibling. Young mantids or nymphs, also eat leafhoppers, aphids and small flies. Nymphs will shed many times before they are full grown. It takes an entire summer or growing season for mantids to mature to adulthood. One generation develops each season. Many species of mantids resemble ants when they are small, but as they go through a series of molts, they begin to look more like adult mantids.
Beneficial
Most often people think mantises are pests. That is only partly true. Praying mantises are terrific pest exterminators. They keep down the population of bugs that are a threat to farming. A master of disguise, the praying mantis can be an able assistant to both farmer and gardener. Look carefully in your backyard. Perhaps that deceptive shape is a praying mantis poised for his next meal.
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