| Paraoxypilus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Boxer bark mantis showing red warning colours | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Mantodea |
| Family: | Nanomantidae |
| Subtribe: | Paraoxypilina |
| Genus: | Paraoxypilus Saussure, 1870 |
Paraoxypilus is a genus of mantis, known as the boxer bark mantises. [1] They are native to Australia and Oceania. [2]
This genus gets its name from the unusual way it acts like and resembles a boxer. Boxer bark mantises are black with hints of grey and white. They can mimic an ant due to its small size and its ant-like abdomen and small bumpy thorax. It does this to avoid predators and is excellent at camouflage.
The insects reach 2–3 cm (about 1") long as adults, while small nymphs are only 3 mm (about ⅛").
Although some mantises are kept as pets, this genus of mantis is generally not, due to the difficulties presented by its small size.
The Chinese mantis is a species of mantis native to Asia and the nearby islands. In 1896 this species was accidentally introduced by a nurseryperson at Mt. Airy near Philadelphia, United States. Tenodera sinensis often is erroneously referred to as Tenodera aridifolia sinensis because it was at first described as a subspecies of Tenodera aridifolia, but Tenodera sinensis is now established as a full species.
Empusidae is a family of plant-mimicking mantises, consisting of 10 genera, holding almost 30 species. Unlike many other mantis families, the Empusidae are a monophyletic lineage. Empusidae mantises are ambush predators, with mouthparts adapted to feeding on other insects and small animals. The majority of Empusidae species are distributed throughout Africa, but they are also found in Southeast Asia and in the southern parts of Europe.
Metallyticus is a genus of praying mantis. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Metallyticidae. They are mostly found in South-East Asia. The species of the genus are dark, somewhat flattened and cockroach-like, and often with a cuticle that is reflective and metallic in appearance.
Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Spiders are the most common ant mimics. Additionally, some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation, while others mimic ants anatomically and behaviourally to hunt ants in aggressive mimicry. Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves; the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid Cretaceous alongside the earliest ants. Indeed one of the earliest, Burmomyrma, was initially classified as an ant.
Creobroter is a genus of flower mantises in the tribe Hymenopodini; species are concentrated in Asia. The name comes from the Greek kreo-, meaning "flesh") and broter" meaning "eating", therefore, "flesh-eating", an apt name for a predatory insect. Both sexes have long wings and are capable fliers. Full-grown males are about 3 to 4 cm in length; females are about 4 to 5 cm.
Flower mantises are praying mantis species that display behaviors of mimicry. These insects have specific colorations and behaviors that mimic flowers in their surrounding habitats. The flower mantises are non-nocturnal group with a single ancestry, but the majority of the known species belong to family Hymenopodidea. These animals use a special form of camouflage referred to as Aggressive mimicry, which is used not only to avoid predation but to attract prey as well. This strategy has been observed in other mantises including the stick mantis and dead-leaf mantis. The observed behavior of these mantises includes positioning themselves on a plant and either inserting themselves within the irradiance or on the foliage of the plants until a prey insect comes within range. Many species of flower mantises are popular as pets.
Megacrania batesii, commonly known as the peppermint stick insect, is an unusual species of stick insect found in northeastern Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and possibly as far north as the Philippines. It is notable for its aposematic coloration, as well as its robust chemical defense mechanism. Its common name refers to the irritating fluid — with an odor resembling peppermint — that it sprays as a defensive action from a pair of glands located at its prothorax when threatened, as well as the cylindrical, twig-like shape of its body. A member of the subfamily Megacraniinae, it was first described by English naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates in 1865.
Phyllocrania paradoxa, common name ghost mantis, is a small species of mantis from Africa remarkable for its leaf-like body. It is one of the three species in the genus Phyllocrania. It is known for its distinct and exclusive camouflaged appearance of a dry weathered leaf.
Idolomantis is a genus of praying mantises in the family Empusidae. It is represented by a single species, Idolomantis diabolica, commonly known as the devil's flower mantis or giant devil's flower mantis. It is one of the largest species of praying mantises, and is possibly the largest that mimics flowers
Metallyticus splendidus is a rare species of praying mantis found in Southeast Asia. It has an iridescent appearance.
Orthodera novaezealandiae, known as the New Zealand mantis or the New Zealand praying mantis, is a species of praying mantis which is, as both the scientific name and common names suggest, indigenous and endemic to New Zealand.
Bolbe is a genus of praying mantises, sometimes called by the common name ground mantis, that are found in Australia.
Gyromantis occidentalis, commonly known as the eastern bark mantis, is a species of mantis found in Australia.
Tenodera australasiae, the purple-winged mantis, is species of praying mantis. Found in Australia, it is common in most parts of Brisbane (QLD). Both males and females are capable of flight. The species has not been shown to be parthenogenetic.
Myrmecia esuriens, also known as Tasmanian inchman, is a species of bulldog ant native to Tasmania.
The bark mantises and ground mantises are praying mantids now placed in the family Eremiaphilidae that are native to the Afrotropics. They are generally light brown but more silvery on the wings. The wings are attractively reticulated, and the veins may be mottled dark and pale. The head is wider than the pronotum, which is rounded anteriorly, and doesn't overlap with the rear of the head. The pronotum is depressed, with its sides more or less parallel, and only a weak supra-coxal bulge is present. The anterior tibia are flattened and greatly expanded longitudinally, and the tibial claw does not fit into a pit between the 1st and 2nd external spines of the anterior femora, as in a few mantis groups.
Tarachodes afzelii, commonly known as the Tanzanian ground mantis, is a species of praying mantis in the family Eremiaphilidae. It is native to woodland in Western and Central Africa.
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.
The Nanomantidae are a new (2019) family of praying mantises, based on the type genus Nanomantis. As part of a major revision of mantid taxonomy, genera and tribes have been moved here, substantially replacing the old family Iridopterygidae.
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