Carolina mantis

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Carolina mantis
Stagmomantis carolina Kaldari 05 cropped.jpg
Adult female
Adult male Stagmomantis carolina.JPG
Adult male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Mantodea
Family: Mantidae
Genus: Stagmomantis
Species:
S. carolina
Binomial name
Stagmomantis carolina
(Johansson, 1763)
Synonyms
List
  • Gryllus carolinus Johansson, 1763
  • Bactromantis parvula [?]
  • Stagmomantis americana(Taylor, 1862)
  • Stagmomantis baculina(Westwood, 1889)
  • Stagmomantis conspersa(Burmeister, 1838)
  • Stagmomantis cuticularis(Serville, 1839)
  • Stagmomantis dimidiata(Burmeister, 1838) [1]
  • Stagmomantis ferox(Saussure, 1859)
  • Stagmomantis fuscata(Weber, 1801)
  • Stagmomantis inquinata(Serville, 1839)
  • Stagmomantis irrorata(Johansson, 1763)
  • Stagmomantis maculosa(Chopard, 1912)
  • Stagmomantis nordica(Giglio-Tos, 1917)
  • Stagmomantis parvula(Goeze, 1778)
  • Stagmomantis polita(Giglio-Tos, 1917)
  • Stagmomantis simplex(Giglio-Tos, 1917)
  • Mantis stolli(Saussure, 1869) [1]
  • Stagmomantis thoracica(Rehn, 1911)
  • Stagmomantis virga(Scudder, 1896)
  • Mantis wheelerii(Thomas, 1875) [2]

[1]

The Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) is a species of praying mantis of the subfamily Stagmomantinae.

Contents

Sexual cannibalism occurs in roughly one quarter of all intersexual encounters of this species, though specimens of this species will engage in cannibalism regardless of age or gender if the opportunity presents itself. [3]

The Carolina mantis is the state insect of South Carolina. Oothecae can be purchased in garden supply centers as a means of biological control of pest insects.

Description

Dorsal view of a female collected from Baldwin County, Georgia. Scale bar indicates 1 cm. Stagmomantis carolina Milledgeville Georgia.jpg
Dorsal view of a female collected from Baldwin County, Georgia. Scale bar indicates 1 cm.

Adult females are 47 to 60 millimetres (1.9–2.4 in) in length while adult males are usually about 54 millimetres (2.1 in) in length. [5] First instar nymphs are 7–12 millimetres (0.28–0.47 in) in length. When the nymphs eat more, their abdomens get much longer.

The Carolina mantis has a dusty brown, gray or green color useful as camouflage in certain environments. The Carolina mantis' color varies because the nymphs are able to adjust their color to match the environment they are in at the time of molting. Instead of undergoing a complete metamorphosis, praying mantises molt and grow to an adult. They can adjust their color over each molt, if necessary, until they reach their final molt to adulthood.

An unusual trait is that its wings only extend three-quarters of the way down the abdomen in mature females, known as brachypterism; this trait is also seen in Iris oratoria , which can be distinguished by the large eyespots on the hind wings (inner wings) of both adult male and female Iris oratoria . [3] Both adult male and female Stagmomantis carolina have a dark-coloured dot on each of their forewings (outer wings), which may be partially hidden in a brown or dark colour morph individual.

Praying Mantis - Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina).jpg

Distribution and habitat

Stagmomantis carolina is native to the eastern coast of the United States. Contrary to popular belief, this species is not native throughout the entire Nearctic Realm and oothecae should not be purchased. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Blatchley, Willis Stanley (1920). Orthoptera of northeastern America: with especial reference to the faunas of Indiana and Florida. The Nature Publishing Company. pp. 117–120.
  2. 1 2 Otte, Daniel; Spearman, Lauren; Stiewe, Martin B.D. "Mantodea Species File Online".
  3. 1 2 Mike Maxwell. "Sexual cannibalism, mate choice, and sperm competition in praying mantids". Archived from the original on 2007-12-22.
  4. ↑ Maxwell, Michael R. (2014-02-21). "A synoptic review of the genus Stagmomantis (Mantodea: Mantidae)" . Zootaxa. 3765 (6): 501–525. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3765.6.1. ISSN   1175-5334.
  5. ↑ "Praying Mantids | Entomology". entomology.ca.uky.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
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