Carolina Mantis

Description:

Brown to gray mantis with green coloring on its two lower sets of legs. Some dark banding on upper legs. The coloring and wing length suggests that this is a male(?). There is much color variation in the Carolina mantis as nymphs have the ability to alter body color (in order to better suit their environment) with every molt. This species preys on other arthropods as well as smaller amphibians and reptiles.

Habitat:

On a downed tree near the top of a ridge in a (mostly shaded) dense hardwood forest.

Notes:

My apologies for the blurry images. It was very humid out, and I think I smudged up my lens with sweat!