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European Mantis

Mantis religiosa

Description:

There are three major types of praying mantis in the US. The European mantis is smaller than the Chinese mantis, and has a more slender abdomen than the Carolina mantis. This one is 3 in.

Notes:

Introduced to America in 1899, the European Mantis has now spread across the majority of North America (including Canada). It eats constantly, and is considered beneficial to gardens due to its appetite for pests.

1 Species ID Suggestions

Carolina Mantis, male
Stagmomantis carolina Species Stagmomantis carolina - Carolina Mantis - BugGuide.Net


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2 Comments

kris_anderson
kris_anderson 6 years ago

There are 25 species of Mantodea in the U.S. Mantis religiosa does not occur in a large swath of territory across the Midwest and central Canada. Both adults and nymphs will eat most insects that they encounter, including beneficial pollinators such as bees and butterflies (and each other), thus they are considered to be a rather ineffective biological control agent. The specimen posted is a male Stagmomantis carolina-- a native species. Mantis religiosa is not found in Kentucky (intergenerationally in the wild, outside of nursery stock).

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Pra...

ForestDragon
ForestDragon 7 years ago

This does not look like Mantis religiosa. It matches a male Stagmomantis carolina much more closely. Please check out the link I provided to compare.

CoJoMo
Spotted by
CoJoMo

Kentucky, USA

Spotted on Sep 5, 2016
Submitted on Sep 5, 2016

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