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mantodea sp.
head to abdomen approximately 5 inches.
Snapped pictures of this mantis at work with my camera phone. I've never seen one this size, color, and with the spikey limbs. Does anyone know the exact species?
Spotted on Aug 28, 2014
Submitted on Sep 25, 2014
1 Comment
Nice find Cammie! This is most likely Stagmomantis carolina, Carolina Mantis. This is a female. There is another Stagmomantis species found in Oklahoma (Stagmomantis limbata) that looks similar. S. limbata has a blue upper lip. I don't see any sign of blue on the lip of this one in your photos. Here is a link so you may compare images: http://bugguide.net/node/view/4820/bgpag...
This would be a nice addition to the Marvelous Mantids of the World mission: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/1573...
One additional note. If you are unsure of a species ID, it is better to leave the Scientific Name section blank and mark the "Help me ID" box. That way, other users know you need help with the ID and the database on the site will recognize your spotting as "unknown".
The Scientific name box is really meant for Genus and species (or just the genus if you don't know the species), though many folks on this site use that section inappropriately.