European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa)
European Praying Mantis (Click to enlarge)
Description: The European Praying Mantis is green, tan, or dark brown in color. Brown hues are more variable. The wings extend past the end of their abdomen. Nymphs have small wing buds in later instars and resemble a smaller wingless version of the adults. Mantids are unmistakable, with their characteristic forearms and triangular heads. Males and females can fly, but females soon become too heavy to take off as their eggs develop. On the inside of the upper forearm there is a black spot. This black spot can have a smaller white spot within it or it can just be solid black.
Habitat: Praying mantids live on foliage and are sometimes found near flowers. They inhabit gardens, hedgerows, meadows, and roadsides. Other open areas with herbaceous plants are also suitable. These mantids are naturalized from Europe and are non-native but not invasive. Being ambush predators, they do not target a single species, therefore having a balanced effect on the ecosystem they live in. These insects mature around early-mid August. Nymphs appear in late May.
Defenses: Mantises have a few tricks to defend themselves. The first line of defense is camouflage. This is used to hide and catch prey. They can bite (although they rarely bite humans) and fly away from predators. They also have an interesting threat display, in which they expose the black spots on the inside of their forearm and raise their wings. In this threat display the wings sometimes rub together to create a rustling noise.
Diet: Beetles, caterpillars, wasps, bees, flies, crickets, spiders, grasshoppers and almost any insect that strays into its path. Mantids hunt by use of aggressive mimicry, using their inconspicuous coloration to ambush prey that wanders near. They will stalk insects out of striking range with slow steps and a swaying motion that represents windblown foliage. Prey is gripped with the spiny forearms then consumed and killed with the slicing mandibles. Mantids hold insects so that they do the least harm when fighting back.
Eggs: When a female's eggs are developed she will attach one or more oval, papery tan masses that contain the eggs. It is called an ootheca. The amount of eggs varies inside and depends on how well the female ate while she was developing her eggs.
Habitat: Praying mantids live on foliage and are sometimes found near flowers. They inhabit gardens, hedgerows, meadows, and roadsides. Other open areas with herbaceous plants are also suitable. These mantids are naturalized from Europe and are non-native but not invasive. Being ambush predators, they do not target a single species, therefore having a balanced effect on the ecosystem they live in. These insects mature around early-mid August. Nymphs appear in late May.
Defenses: Mantises have a few tricks to defend themselves. The first line of defense is camouflage. This is used to hide and catch prey. They can bite (although they rarely bite humans) and fly away from predators. They also have an interesting threat display, in which they expose the black spots on the inside of their forearm and raise their wings. In this threat display the wings sometimes rub together to create a rustling noise.
Diet: Beetles, caterpillars, wasps, bees, flies, crickets, spiders, grasshoppers and almost any insect that strays into its path. Mantids hunt by use of aggressive mimicry, using their inconspicuous coloration to ambush prey that wanders near. They will stalk insects out of striking range with slow steps and a swaying motion that represents windblown foliage. Prey is gripped with the spiny forearms then consumed and killed with the slicing mandibles. Mantids hold insects so that they do the least harm when fighting back.
Eggs: When a female's eggs are developed she will attach one or more oval, papery tan masses that contain the eggs. It is called an ootheca. The amount of eggs varies inside and depends on how well the female ate while she was developing her eggs.