Mantises

All 4 species of mantises on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 59 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…?

• It stalks other insects such as grasshoppers, aphids and small arthropods.

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• It lives in grassland, gardens and open country of Europe, North Africa and western Asia.

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• Its eggs are laid inside a protective ootheca of hardened foam, tough enough to withstand extreme weather right through the winter.

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• When it feels threatened it sways slowly from side to side, mimicking a twig moved by the wind.

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• The male has large, feathery antennae and flies well; the female, being heavier, barely moves about.

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• It overwinters as a nymph on the vegetation and the adults appear in spring, which sets it apart from the European mantis, an insect of late summer.

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• Unlike most European mantises, which overwinter as an ootheca, this one overwinters as a nymph, clinging to the vegetation with its activity almost at a standstill.

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• The males' conspicuous feathery antennae let them locate females by their pheromone from a long way off.

Ecosystems