The Woodsman's Journal Online: Mantises...Praying...Chinese... What!? ©

One of the mantises we found in the park. Photograph by the author.

I was at the park the other day with my Wife and Granddaughter, when we found not one, but three mantises¹. They looked a little different, and much larger, than the ones I had seen in the past, but I just assumed that they were females since we found an egg case near one of them, and because I had always heard that female mantises were larger than males. So, I took some pictures and we went on with our day.

A mantis egg case on a fence post, with one of the mantises we found in a bush nearby, in the foreground. Photograph by the author.

That night I showed my Daughter the pictures and said that I thought it was a female mantis, and she said “no, I think that it is a chinese mantis, there is more than one kind you know”.

“Chinese mantis”, I said to myself. I’ve never heard of a chinese mantis before. I didn’t even know that there was more than one kind of mantis to be found in North America. I had only ever heard of praying mantises before.

So, I did what I always do and did some research, here is what I found.

One of the mantises we found in the park. Note how this one is greener than the others we found. Photograph by the author.

First off, mantises are solitary insects and they are the only insects that can turn their heads around 180 degrees. This, and their excellent eyesight, allows them to detect movement up to 60 feet away. According to the New York State Department of Conservation, the mantises which are found in New York State are usually green or brown, and they can change their colors when they molt to better blend into their environment. This is important because mantises are ambush hunters, and they can strike at the incredible speed of about one-twentieth of a second. Mantises are truly formidable, and even terrifying, predators and they will eat spiders, insects, lizards, frogs, and even small birds, such as hummingbirds! Mantises are often used for pest control, however since they eat almost anything they can catch, without worrying if their meal is beneficial to humans or not, they are not particularly good pest control. In fact, they are cannibalistic, and will often eat each other. After or during mating, which takes place during the month of September², the female will bite off the male mantis’s head! Females produce a hardened foam ootheca or egg cases and the hundred or so eggs inside will over winter inside the egg case attached to a branch, twig, grass stem or fence post above the snowline. In the late spring the nymphs hatch almost simultaneously, and quickly go their separate ways, often aided by the wind, because if they remain together, they will eat each other. Mantises mature by late summer and they will go through six to seven molts before they reach adulthood.³ Mantises are most commonly seen in the late summer and early fall and usually die by winter.

One of the mantises we found in the park. Photograph by the author.

It turns out that there are twenty different types mantises to be found in North America, however only four types are common: the chinese mantis (tenodera sinensis), the praying or european mantis (mantis religiosa), the carolina mantis (stagmomantis carolina) and the grizzled mantid (gonatista grisea)⁴. Of these only the chinese and the european or praying mantis regularly appear in New York State, although recently the carolina mantis has been reported in both Connecticut and New York⁵.

So, after doing some research, it appears that my daughter was right, and that it was a chinese mantises that we found in the park.

One of the chinese mantises (tenodera sinensis), that we found at the park near our home. Photograph by the author.

According to Iowa State University’s BugGuide, the chinese mantis is also sometimes called the chinese praying mantis and this green or tan mantis has a yellow spot between its raptorial arms or coxa. This mantis at three to four inches (almost 8 to 10 cm) long is the largest mantis in North America. It was accidentally introduced into North America from China by a nurseryman in Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania (which is near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in 1896, later it was introduced into other American states to combat insect pests. Its current range is most of the northeastern United States up to southern New England and parts of southeastern Canada.⁶

A picture of a praying or european mantis from Wikimedia, titled “Mantis religiosa green 01.jpg” and found HERE.

The european or praying mantis is often green or tan and is about two to three inches (5 to 7.5 cm) long. Inside its raptorial arms are found two black spots, which may or may not have white centers. According to the BugGuide, this mantis was accidentally introduced into North America from Southern Europe in 1899, on nursery plants. Currently these mantises are widespread in the United states and are also found in both the southeastern and southwestern portions Canada. They are not common in the hot and humid or hot and dry portions of North America.

A picture of a carolina mantis from Wikimedia, titled “Stagmomantis carolina Kaldari 01.jpg” and found HERE.

According to Iowa State University’s BugGuide, these pale green, brown or gray mantises⁷ are between two and two and a quarter inches (4.8 to 5.7 cm) long. The carolina mantis is a mantis that is indigenous to North America and can be found from the Rocky Mountains to the East Coast of the United States and from Canadian border south into Mexico and Central America⁸.

A picture of a grizzled mantis from Wikimedia, titled “Gonatista grisea - Grizzled Mantid - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg” and found HERE.

The BugGuide states that the grizzled mantis is native to North America and that it is also called the lichen-mimic mantis, or the florida-bark mantis. This mantis is a mottled shade of gray, green or brown and has a broad and flattened body. Unlike the chinese, european and carolina mantises, which prefer sunny areas with shrubs, weeds and other greenery, grizzled mantises are usually found on tree trunks and sometimes on fence posts, These mantises can be found in the southeastern United States from South Carolina to Florida: they are also found in Puerto Rico.

One of the mantises we found in the park. Photograph by the author.

So, next time that you are walking along a fence row, a parking lot, a roadside, the edge of a field, or any other weedy area during the late summer and early fall, keep an eye out and maybe you will find a mantis!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹ The plural of mantis is alternatively and equally either mantises or mantid

² New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, “Watchable Wildlife: Praying and Chinese Mantises, Did You Know?”

³ BugGuide, “Tenodera sinensis sinensis - Chinese Mantis”

⁴ Madeline Bodin, “The Truth About Praying Mantises” and Insectidentification.org, “North American Mantises”

⁵ The BugGuide states that it has recently expanded its range and can now be found in both Connecticut and New York state.

BugGuide, “Stagmomantis carolina - Carolina Mantis”

⁶ From iNaturalist, “Chinese mantid, Tenodera sinensis”; Madeline Bodin, “The Truth About Praying Mantises” and BugGuide, “Tenodera sinensis - Chinese Mantis”

⁷ The males of the Carolina mantis are usually brown, and the females are usually green or brown.

BugGuide, “Stagmomantis carolina - Carolina Mantis”

⁸ Michael J. Raupp, “Home Grown Mantid: Carolina Mantid, Stagmomantis Carolina”

Sources

Bernardini, Marco; “Mantis religiosa green 01.jpg”, August 15, 2009, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mantis_religiosa_green_01.jpg, accessed September 7, 2020

Bodin, Madeline; “The Truth About Praying Mantises”, August 27, 2012, [© 2020 by the Center for Northern Woodlands Education], https://northernwoodlands.org/outside_story/article/truth-about-praying-mantises, accessed September 7, 2020

BugGuide, “Gonatista grisea - Grizzled Mantid”, Hosted by Iowa State University, Department of Entomology, [© 2003-2020 Iowa State University], https://bugguide.net/node/view/11677, accessed September 7, 2020

BugGuide, “Mantis religiosa - European Mantis”, Hosted by Iowa State University, Department of Entomology, [© 2003-2020 Iowa State University], https://bugguide.net/node/view/22947, accessed September 7, 2020

BugGuide, “Stagmomantis carolina - Carolina Mantis”, Hosted by Iowa State University, Department of Entomology, [© 2003-2020 Iowa State University], https://bugguide.net/node/view/4821, accessed September 7, 2020

BugGuide, “Tenodera sinensis sinensis - Chinese Mantis”, Hosted by Iowa State University, Department of Entomology, [© 2003-2020 Iowa State University], https://bugguide.net/node/view/12409, accessed September 7, 2020

Hampshire, Gail; “Gonatista grisea - Grizzled Mantid - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg”, April 9,2012, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gonatista_grisea_-_Grizzled_Mantid_-_Flickr_-_gailhampshire.jpg, accessed September 9, 2020

iNaturalist, “Chinese mantid, Tenodera sinensis” https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/348934#Range, accessed September 9, 2020

Kaldari, “Stagmomantis carolina Kaldari 01.jpg”, August 28, 2009, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stagmomantis_carolina_Kaldari_01.jpg, accessed September 7, 2020

https://www.insectidentification.org/mantises.asp, accessed September 7, 2020

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, “Watchable Wildlife: Praying and Chinese Mantises, Did You Know?”, https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/58926.html, accessed September 7, 2020

Raupp, Michael J.; “Home Grown Mantid: Carolina Mantid, Stagmomantis Carolina”, October 14, 2019, University of Maryland Extension, [© 2013 Michael J. Raupp], http://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2019/10/12/home-grown-mantid-carolina-mantid-stagmomantis-carolina#:~:text=The%20Carolina%20mantid%20ranges%20from,found%20in%20gardens%20and%20landscapes, accessed September 9, 2020