Mantis religiosa
| Praying mantis Mantis religiosa |
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| Adult female Lisbon, Portugal | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Mantodea |
| Family: | Mantidae |
| Subfamily: | Mantinae |
| Tribe: | Mantini |
| Genus: | Mantis |
| Species: | M. religiosa |
| Binomial name | |
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Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Subspecies | |
The European mantis or Mantis religiosa is a large hemimetabolic insect in the family of the Mantidae (‘mantids’), which is the largest family of the order Mantodea (mantises). Their common name—praying mantis—is derived from the distinctive posture of the first pair of legs that can be observed in animals in repose. It resembles a praying attitude. Both males and females have elongated bodies with two pair of wings. The most striking features that all Mantodea share are a very mobile, triangular head with large compound eyes and their first pair of legs (the ‘raptorial legs’) which is highly modified for the efficient capture and restrain of fast moving or flying prey.
In Germany, M. religiosa is listed as ‘threatened’ on the German Red List. It is not supposed to be caught or held as pet.
Even though female Mantis religiosa are usually larger and heavier than male individuals (7–9 cm versus 6–7 cm), the antennae and the eyes of male animals outsize these of the females. Along with the forward directed compound eyes there are also simple eyes to be found on the head. These three dorsal ocelli are also more pronounced in males than in females.
Male individuals are often found to be more active and agile whereas females are physically more powerful. One of the outcomes of these morphological variations is that only males and very young females are able to fly. Adult females are generally too large and heavy for their wings to enable a take-off.
Mantids show strong deimatic display from very early life stages on. This behavior can be observed throughout different groups of animals and is used to scare or startle potential predators in order to give the attacked animal a chance to escape. The deimatic display in M. religiosa involves wing spreading and bending of the raptorial legs to reveal two matched black eyespots with a yellow or white center at the base of the coxae (the base of the leg). It makes the animal appear much larger and more of a threat to the attacker. The black eyespots are also a distinct feature for species discrimination of the European mantis. Another unique feature of M. religiosa is its midline metathoracic ear (see Ultrasound avoidance). This “tympanal auditory organ” is an unpaired structure found on the ventral side of the animal on the metathorax between the third pair of legs. Unlike other sound-processing organs found among different groups of insects, the metathoracic ear has a high sensitivity across high and low frequencies and even ultrasound. Therefore the authors call it a ‘true ear’.
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Wikipedia