Squatting (squatter) mantis man: A prehistoric praying mantis petroglyph in Iran

A 14-cm motif of a six-legged creature with raptorial forearms was discovered in the Teymareh rock art site in central Iran (Markazi Province) during a 2017 and 2018 survey of petroglyphs or prehistoric stone engravings. In order to identify it, entomologists and archaeologists compared the motif to local insects and to similar motifs and geometric rock art from around the world. The inspected motif resembles a well-known ”squatter man” motif based on aurora phenomena and found all over the world, combined with a praying mantid (Mantodea), probably a local species of Empusa. The petroglyph proves that praying mantids have been astounding and inspiring humans since prehistoric times.

Climate Change, Succession, and Reproductive Success of a Praying Mantid

We examined the adult phase of the Chinese praying mantid, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis (Saussure) (Mantodea: Mantidae) at the end of five growing seasons spanning two decades (1999–2018) in a successional old field. Sex ratio, which is generally male-biased by the time all members of a cohort are adults, exhibited a steady decline in proportion of males and eventual reversal by 2016, even though the calendar time of the study did not vary among years. Increasing length and warmth of the growing season resulted in earlier maturation, so we were seeing later portions of the adult phase at the same calendar time over successive years. This result is consistent with the earlier-published hypothesis that global warming can reduce fitness by warming and extending the growing season: earlier maturation results in earlier oviposition, which in turn causes eggs to hatch before onset of winter, thereby dying before egg diapause can occur. This may push the latitudinal distribution of this, and of other univoltine semelparous insects, farther north as the climate continues to warm. Reproductive output for the population, measured as total number of eggs produced by a cohort, peaked in 2004 at 8,514 and then fell to 226 by 2018, as did estimated numbers of adults. This decline was probably due to shrinkage of the open field area where prey were more abundant, by more than 2/3 as cedar trees replaced herbaceous vegetation during plant secondary succession. This is consistent with the hypothesis that succession limits the residence time in a habitat for these mantids.

Grass-like mantid, American grass mantid, Thesprotia graminis, (Scudder, 1878) (Insecta: Mantodea: Thespidae)

Praying mantids are charismatic insects that are considered beneficial to humans because of their insectivorous lifestyle and because of their aesthetic appeal. Despite this, many praying mantid species remain understudied. One species that occurs in the southeastern United States is the grass-like mantid, Thesprotia graminis (Scudder) (Figure 1). This small, cryptic mantid species is light brown to green in color and can easily blend in with pine needles and grass, making it difficult to detect in its natural habitat. Although this mantid may be mistaken for a stick insect (Order: Phasmatodea), especially when its forelegs are held directly in front of the body and it resembles a blade of grass, the raptorial forelimbs reveal the insect’s true identity. There are 14 Neotropical species within the genus Thesprotia, all of which occur in South America except Thesprotia graminis (Rondon et al. 2007). The type specimen for this species is a male that was collected in Gainesville, Florida. It is vouchered in the entomology collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This document is also available on the Featured Creatures website at http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1235

The fishing mantid: predation on fish as a new adaptive strategy for praying mantids (Insecta: Mantodea)

Observations in unmanipulated, semi-natural conditions were made of a single individual of the praying mantid Hierodulatenuidentata, while hunting and capturing an unusual prey for this kind of insect, guppy fish, Poeciliareticulata. This repetitive fishing behavior, recorded daily, is reported here for the first time and discussed in relation to the adaptive behavioral plasticity of praying mantids. We speculate regarding learning from experience as a hunting strategy.