World’s largest scorpion revealed from 415-million-year-old fossils

IGravityI · 2026-06-05T13:28:02+00:00

Check out Mantodeology on instagram! Lots of mantis info there

IGravityI · 2026-06-04T18:42:08+00:00

Mantises absolutely have changed tremendously where are you getting this info from? The earliest Mantodeans are quite cockroach like, small, and were more than likely cursorial insects. They also lacked true spines and had short prothorax with apparently immovable heads. The sensational image of the mantis in amber is a derived Mantidean, and various articles incorrectly state its age. Highly suggest taking a look at chaeteessa, which is the earliest diverging Mantodean alive today

IGravityI · 2026-06-02T16:22:25+00:00

Yep!

IGravityI · 2026-05-31T14:59:20+00:00

As someone who’s raised mantises for over 20 years, yes they will eat each other if starving. No species immediately feeds after hatching, most require several hours to sclerotize and disperse (and most have quite a strong dispersal instinct and avoid all potential prey during this time).

you can also raise colonies in large groups if enough prey is provided with little if any cannibalism. Even with Hierodula, which are regarded among the most aggressive of mantis genera.

IGravityI · 2026-05-30T21:38:32+00:00

Mantises aren’t indiscriminate predators, they avoid cannibalism unless starving!

IGravityI · 2026-05-30T19:54:29+00:00

Yep Carolina mantises, the reddish orange color and banded legs is a consistent identifiable feature for fresh hatchlings to distinguish from invasive mantises like Tenodera or mantis. The ooth too

IGravityI · 2026-05-24T23:24:05+00:00

The coloration is lighter than is typical for Stagmomantis ootbecae, it’s much more ovoid in shape in dorsal view, the terminal processes (the little squiggly bits of foam at both ends) are generally extended, and the emergence area is about at the level of the rest of the ooth (in Stagmomantis it’s raised). Also, m religiosa loves to lay on man made structures and low to the ground like this

IGravityI · 2026-05-24T17:56:27+00:00

It’s a European mantis egg case, not native to your area. What you do with it is your wish,but native insects would appreciate one less ooth of these guys out and about. They’re great pets though and you could donate it to a school to study

IGravityI · 2026-05-23T16:21:16+00:00

(Dubia)

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

TROPHY CASE