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CREOBROTER GEMMATUS MANTIS

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CREOBROTER URBANUS MANTIS

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Classification

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Mantodea

Family: Hymenopodidae

Subfamily: Hymenopodinae

Tribe: Hymenopodini

Genus: Creobroter

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Phylogenetic systems of
Mantodea (Dictyoptera)

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CREOBROTER MANTIS

Creobroter or flower mantises is a genus of mantis concentrated in Western Asia. The name comes from the Greek "kreas" (combining form "kreo-", meaning "flesh"), and "broter" (eating); therefore, "flesh-eating", an apt name for a predatory insect. Both sexes have long wings and are capable fliers. Males grow to about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) and females are slightly larger. They prefer a humid environment and live about nine months in captivity. Females can be cannibalistic but males are fairly communal. Though infrequent, cannibalism among C. germmatus is nevertheless more common than among other flower mantises.

They moult 8 times to become an adult and can take between 2 and 5 months to mature depending on food and temperature. They are the smallest yet most widespread Creobroter species. They make easy pets with proper care and it is said there is a 90% survival rate among nymphs.

Camouflage and mimicry As the common name indicates, Creobroter are known for having varicolored (yellow, white, red, brown, etc.) markings which serve as camouflage by hiding the creatures' actual shape and making them look somewhat like flowers when hiding amidst green foliage.

The resemblance to flowers may be greater in sub-adult Creobroter than those that are fully grown. This flower-mimicry is only partial, but is attractive enough to make Creobroter favored as pets, especially as Creobroter species are more common and less delicate than the more flower-like Hymenopus.

Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else . So the animals use their colors to blend into the environment. Camouflage is a type of animal adaptation. On the other hand mimicry is related to camouflage , in which a species resembles its surroundings or is otherwise difficult to detect. So it is said that camouflage and mimicry are adaptations which help the Creobroter gemmatus for catch their prey as well as avoid and escape from predators. Therefore, this type of adaptation may be morphological, physiological or both. In this respect, it is said that coloration of Creobroter gammatus is an example of aggressive mimicry, a form of camouflage in which a predator's colors and patterns lure prey. The predator of flower mantises are bats and other animals, so they are colored to match with parts of plants such as flowers, twigs, leave and even grass to hide .All these phenomenon are also related to their behavioral pattern because their behavior are varies, but typically involves climbing a plant until they reach a suitable flower, and then staying still until a prey insect comes within range. The deimatic behavior is found in this animal which means any pattern of threatening or startling behavior , such as suddenly displaying conspicuous eyespots , so as to scare off or momentarily distract a predator, thus giving the prey animal an opportunity to escape.

In some Creobroter (such as C. gemmatus) these markings also serve as eyespots when the mantis spreads its wings in a deimatic display.

Rather than resembling foliage or flowers, some species of Creobroter resemble ants during their early nymph stages. Ant mimicry is a useful defense against predation for the young Creobroter, as most ants are relatively unpalatable and aggressive making insect predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, avoid them.

Around their third ecdysis, Creobroter trade their ant-mimicking dark, shiny appearance for the green and light-colored markings that make their outline so difficult to discern amidst vegetation.

This type of mantis is found in tall grasses, dense or low vegetation, bushes, some plants having branches, twigs with bright flowers where different types of prey of it will be found. These are also found in damp areas. Their foods are variable such as Drosophila, flies, moths, cockroaches, crickets, butterflies etc.

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