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Praying mantis

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For other uses, see Praying mantis (disambiguation)}}}.
A praying mantis, or praying mantid, is a large insect of the order Mantodea, named for their "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word Mantes for prophet or fortune teller; the plural is therefore mantes, with mantises also acceptable. There are approximately 2,300 species world-wide; most are tropical or subtropical, but several species live in temperate climates such as that of the northern United States, central Europe, and Siberia. Praying Mantids are also one of the few insects that can turn their heads. Some texts refer to the European mantis (Mantis religiosa) as the most common praying mantis in European countries. Ischnomantis gigas is the largest mantis with 17 cm length in the female and is found in the Sahel zone of Africa. The smallest mantis is Bolbe pygmaea, which is only 1cm long.

A gravid female praying mantis will produce a large foam mass, called an ootheca. This ootheca can contain up to 300 eggs, all protected in the foam sack. These oothecae can take up to 5 months to hatch, some species hatching in small intervals. Hatching can take up to 5 weeks for all of the nymphs to fully emerge. Not only do gravid species produce oothecae, infertile oothecae can be produced by females which have not been mated. These may sometimes hatch one or two nymphs, however, this is very unlikely. Some species, such as Brunneria borealis, produce oothecae through parthenogenesis. This is where a male is not needed to produce fertile ootheca; however, all the mantis' offspring of this sort will be female.

Species were introduced to the United States from Europe and China around 1900 as garden predators in an effort to control pest populations. It is the official state insect of South Carolina (Carolina Mantis) and Connecticut (European Mantis).

Some mantis species

Indian Flower Mantis - adult female threat pose
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Indian Flower Mantis - adult female threat pose

L8 Sub-Adult Philippine Mantis (very similar to the African) eating a cricket
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L8 Sub-Adult Philippine Mantis (very similar to the African) eating a cricket

For a more detailed treatment of this insect, see Mantodea.

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
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Image:Praying mantis feeding.jpg|Praying mantis feeding on a fly (New Zealand) Image:AdultNorthAmericanRockyMountainPrayingMantis.jpg|A mature Praying Mantis from the Rocky Mountains of North America (USA) Image:NG-PrayingMantis.jpg|An adult Chinese Mantis walking on glass (Greenbelt, Maryland) Image:Praying_mantis_on_a_gum_tree.jpg|A Praying mantis on a Gum tree. (Australia)

 

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