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The genus Metallyticus reviewed (Insecta: Mantodea) ![]() CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD .PDF --------------------------------- Classification Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Mantodea Family Mantidae Subfamily Mantinae Tribe Paramantini Genus Hierodula Species Patellifera
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Phylogenetic systems of CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD .PDF |
Hierodula patellifera common name giant Asian mantis, Asian mantis, Indochina mantis or Harabiro Mantis, is a species of praying mantis belonging to genus Hierodula.
Males are about 45-65 mm long and females around 65-75 mm long. Individuals can vary from green to brown in color. Although this species is fairly large for mantises in general, it is among the smallest members of the genus Hierodula, of which many species can reach 110-150 mm. Three pairs of legs, colors vary from green to brown and generally has a big dot on the wing. Mantis praying is one of the few insects that can fully rotate the head.
Very aggressive. 60-100% chance female will eat the male while trying to breed them.
They are found in Malaysia, Hawaii, India, Java, Korean Peninsula, Philippines, New Guinea, Southern China, Taiwan, Vietnam & more.
Giant Asian mantis lives in forests, rice fields, home yards, stretched lands and river banks. They perch on branches with a height of about 1 meter from the ground on a variety of plants.
This Mantis is a carnivore that generally preys on small insects including crickets, butterflies, bees, but also large vertebrate animals including snakes, rats, lizards, frogs, and small birds. This species is more stationary by moving the front foot to wait for an opportunity and ambush suddenly.
Virgin mantis females, Hierodula patellifera, exhibit a characteristic calling posture. When holding the body below a branch or leaf, the female curls the abdomen ventrally, flexing it away from the wings and exposing its dorsal surface. The curling is accompanied by pumping movements. The average age at which females start adopting this calling posture is 14 days after adult moult, and it is related to their nutritional stage. Once initiated, females exhibit the posture everyday until they mate. After mating, the behaviour is completely suppressed. Males are attracted by virgin females adopting the calling posture but are not attracted to mated females. The characteristics of the posture and the responsive behaviour of the males indicate that this female calling involves the release of sex pheromones.
Females produce an ootheca which contains up to 300 eggs and is protected in a foam bag in the fall to hatch in the next five months. Some hatch at small intervals and last up to five weeks before the larvae appear fully.
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