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PHASMIDS STUDIES VOLUME 17 ![]() CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD --------------------------------- Classification Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Mantodea Family Mantidae Genus Stagmatoptera Species S.Flavipennis
.............................. STAGMATOPTERA FLAVIPENNISPraying Mantis CLICK FOR DOWNLOAD |
STAGMATOPTERA FLAVIPENNIS
Stagmatoptera is a genus consisting of 14 species of mantises in the subfamily Stagmatopterinae , that inhabit the Neotropical region.
Origin: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Surinam, Paraguay, Peru & Venezuela.
Praying mantises are very formidable predators. They usually eat flies and similar insects, they also snatch lizards, frogs, fish, mice, snakes, turtles, and even birds from the air !!! The fearsome predators are capable of killing prey 3 times its size.
The praying mantis is an undeniably impressive insect. Carnivorous and camouflaged, the praying mantis gets its name for the way their front legs are bent in a praying motion. Most mantis species are colored green or brown so they can blend in with leaves and foliage which enables them to patiently stalk insects like flies and grasshoppers.
The praying mantis is widely viewed as a beneficial insect as they eat many different types of other insects that may be harmful to humans.
The closest relatives of mantises are the termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other unrelated insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies (Mantispidae). Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation.
The largest are the Tenodera and the Archimantis, which are six inches long! The smallest praying mantis is the Bolbe pygmaea, which is only 2/5 of an inch, or one centimeter.
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