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Mantis religiosa
It is long and thin, with prominent eyes and enormous front legs that are used for catching other insects like aphids, mites, caterpillars, moths and ladybugs by cleverly disguising inself among leaves of plants.
Found in the southern United States, South America, Africa and part of Europe.
Belongs to the grasshopper family.
Spotted on Jul 21, 2011
Submitted on Jan 21, 2013
3 Comments
Hi e s c! I love this spotting (I'm a big Mantid fan!). This little one is still an nymph.
One thing though, Mantids belong to Order Mantodea and have several different scientific Families.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/342391/bgp...
Grasshoppers belong to Order Orthoptera and have their own Suborders and Families within.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/73/bgpage
Mantids are not related to Grasshoppers other than they are both Insects, though both groups are very interesting!
Thanks for sharing this wonderful creature!
Nice!
I love those things!