European mantis

Mantis religiosa · The European mantis is a large predatory insect found throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, and introduced to North America.

Also called European Mantid.

European mantis
Photo: Fabiosart, CC BY-SA 4.0
European mantis
Photo: EpicShadowz, CC BY-SA 4.0
European mantis
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderMantodea
FamilyMantidae
GenusMantis
SpeciesMantis religiosa

Where it lives

Warm grasslands of the Mediterranean, Africa and Asia; introduced to North America.

Fun facts

  • Females sometimes attack and eat their mates, with field studies finding cannibalism rates as high as 31% in natural pairings.
  • A male can keep mating even after losing his head, and headless mantises can survive for up to five hours.
  • Adult females often grow too large and heavy for their wings to lift them off the ground, so they rarely fly.
  • When threatened, it spreads its wings and bends its legs to flash two hidden black eyespots, making itself look bigger and scarier.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).