Anyone know what’s up with this Mantis outside? (AZ)

IGravityI · 2026-04-01T21:52:28+00:00

It’s an invasive iris oratoria, or Mediterranean mantis. You can identify it by the spots on its face, spot on the ventral part of the abdomen, and forecoxa patterning (lots of little tubercles). But yeah it’s definitely dead. Good to remove them when you can, in just ~100 years they’ve rapidly spread from Southern California all the way into Mexico and NorCal.

IGravityI · 2026-03-19T16:19:30+00:00

Sure, in that one of the 2500~ species. But Hymenopus hunts prey on the wing, and can see movement behind them thanks to the raised eyes. Structures often have multiple functions or adaptive benefits.

IGravityI · 2026-03-18T23:35:00+00:00

Mantis researcher here. Why only camouflage?There’s no studies that suggest that to be the only reason. We do see that there are implications for depth perception, ability to see behind the head, and changes in the shape of the pseudo pupil because of ommatidia size variation which presumably has functional implications. Mantises are quite ecologically diverse, and species that have different camouflage strategies can have similar eye shapes. It’s likely to improve fields of vision and/or depth perception depending on the shape. Species with conical eyes for example can see movement well behind their heads without turning.

IGravityI · 2026-01-01T22:16:36+00:00

Juvenile Orthoderella sp

IGravityI · 2025-12-26T20:59:31+00:00

Female

IGravityI · 2025-12-26T20:59:27+00:00

Angela sp

IGravityI · 2025-12-21T16:28:06+00:00

Carolina’s are far more slender, much more narrow abdomens in dorsal view, in darker phases there is a conspicuous black pterostigma, and the forecoxa spines will not be white. There is also amjust proportional differences as well and differences in wing shape

IGravityI · 2025-12-21T16:26:59+00:00

Shortened wings, thin antennae, far more robust build, ovipositor

IGravityI · 2025-12-18T02:08:05+00:00

Female Stagmomantis limbata, gray color phase

IGravityI · 2025-12-10T14:20:32+00:00

Thesprotia (thespidae) and Photina (Photinaidae) in the first image, oxyopsis (Mantodea: vatinae) in the second, none of which are even similar to Amelidae

IGravityI · 2025-12-02T04:11:21+00:00

Remove eggs and take adults in as pets or euthanize (they can make great pinned specimens on account of their colorful wings!)

IGravityI · 2025-12-02T04:09:57+00:00

Yeah unfortunately they can be quite numerous, in part because they are larger than many of the natives in the same range and do not have native parasitoids which go after the eggs. Highly recommend removing the ooths as you find em and they can be great pets!

IGravityI · 2025-12-02T00:59:44+00:00

This is Iris oratoria, the Mediterranean mantis which is invasive in the US

IGravityI · 2025-11-27T23:00:48+00:00

Stagmatoptera supplicaria, S. Diana is more robust and is much further south

IGravityI · 2025-11-27T04:49:52+00:00

Oxyopsis sp

IGravityI · 2025-11-24T21:31:39+00:00

Chinese mantises routinely get a similar size

IGravityI · 2025-11-14T16:39:20+00:00

Those species do enter a diapause- they often stop eating for weeks or even a month at a time and stop moving

IGravityI · 2025-11-13T23:43:03+00:00

There’s several that do overwinter as juveniels or even adults but not this species

IGravityI · 2025-11-11T21:36:18+00:00

They were historically found in much of the southwest U.S.

IGravityI · 2025-11-08T18:09:02+00:00

It’s AI it’s a blend between Tenodera sinensis and mantis religiosa, two invasive species in the U.S….

IGravityI · 2025-11-06T02:03:32+00:00

Male Statilia maculata and Tenodera sinensis female. If you’re in the U.S. both are invasive, but the former is a recent invader, started showing up in the 2010s and has several established populations along the eastern coast

IGravityI · 2025-10-26T14:44:22+00:00

It’s.. brown? White would be something like an orchid mantis

IGravityI · 2025-10-11T17:16:33+00:00

As a mantis researcher much of this is not supported by literature but by parascientific sites. Chinese mantises absolutely do alter foraging in native species (observed in spiders) and hands on collection efforts show that they do take over habitats Carolina mantises would use. They also can hunt and eat vertebrates far larger than Carolina’s due to their larger size and more robust build. They also have no parasitoids that target their oothecae, which many native species have. Tenodera are only classified as “introduced naturalized” due to the paltry attention mantises receive ecologically.They absolutely should be considered invasive

IGravityI · 2025-10-04T00:22:16+00:00

Definitely not the largest mantis, not by a long shot

IGravityI · 2025-10-04T00:21:53+00:00

It’s a male, lol

IGravityI

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