Illustrations of wild animals [insect 4 Praying Mantids]

螳螂目 MANTODEA

Mantodea (Mantids / Praying Mantids)

The name Mantodea is derived from “mantis”, the Greek word for these insects.

• Classification & Distribution

Hemimetabola

• incomplete development (egg, nymph, adult)

Orthopteroid

• closely related to Orthoptera and Blattodea

Distribution: Common in tropical and subtropical climates.

	WORLDWIDE
Number of Families	8
Number of Species	~1800

• Life History & Ecology

Mantids have elongate bodies that are specialized for a predatory lifestyle:  long front legs with spines for catching and holding prey, a head that can turn from side to side, and cryptic coloration for hiding in foliage or flowers.

Mantids are most abundant and most diverse in the tropics; there are only 5 species commonly collected in the United States and 3 of these have been imported from abroad.

• Physical Features

Adults: Filiform antennae Head triangular with well-developed compound eyes Mouthparts mandibulate, hypognathous Prothorax elongate with large, spiny front legs adapted for catching prey Front wings thickened, more slender than hind wings Tarsi 5-segmented Cerci short, multi-segmented Immatures: Structurally similar to adults Developing wingpads often visible on thorax

• Major Families 

  • Mantidae — this family includes all of the common North American mantids.

The name mantid refers only to members of the family Mantidae.

• Bug Bytes

  • Mantids are the only insects that can turn their head from side to side without moving any other part of the body. Many humans mistakenly interpret this behavior as a sign of intelligence.
  • A female mantid may eat her mate while he is still linked with her in copulo.  This behavior is probably more common in captivity than in the wild.
  • Most mantids are cryptically colored to blend with their environment.  A pink Malaysian species spends most of its time hunting for prey on pink orchids.
  • Although mantids usually feed on insect prey, they have been known to catch and eat small frogs, lizards, and even birds

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↑Quoted from the General Entomology course
at North Carolina State University >Resource Library > Compendium > Mantodea (© 2009 by John R. Meyer; Last Updated: 8 April 2009)

>Learn more about pray mantids (mantodearesearch.com)

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螳科 Mantidae

1. 大刀螳螂Tenodera aridifolia

2.  中华刀螳Tenodera sinensis

3. 短胸大刀螳Tenodera brevicollis

1. 棕静螳 Statilia maculata

1. 广斧螳 Hieroduia patellifera

长颈螳科  Vatidae

中华屏顶螳Kishinouyeum sinensae