Tenodera aridifolia
Mark Moran
Tenodera aridifolia
Mark Moran
The Chinese Mantid is the
largest and most often seen of our mantids. It was
introduced froom China in 1896 to help control pest
populations. Our other two mantids, the European Mantid and
the Carolina Mantid are much smaller. Chinese Mantids grow up
to five inches long. They can be tan, pale green, or a
combination of the two colors. They have long, skinny bodies
and long legs. They also have long antennae.
Chinese Mantids can turn their heads around 180 degrees to
face behind them. These insects live in
meadows and gardens. They are usually found on tall plants,
flowers, or shrubs. They camouflage
very well with their surroundings. The Chinese Mantids is
often called "Praying Mantis" because of the way it poses
with its front legs together under its head. It is actually
poised to strike. Mantids lash out with their front legs to
grab insect prey. Mark Cassino
Copyright, Les
Daniels Chinese Mantids mate in
late Summer when they are fully grown. Females will often
kill the male after, or even during, mating. A female may
turn around and bite the male's head off, finishing him when
mating is over. Female mantids then lay
eggs in a foamy liquid on a twig. The liquid hardens and
becomes an egg sac called an ootheca. Eggs stay in the
ootheca through winter. Young mantids hatch in the
Spring. Baby mantids are called
nymphs.
They immediately begin eating, usually starting on their
brothers and sisters. Up to 400 nymphs may come from one
ootheca. Nymphs will continue to
eat and grow. They start on small insects like aphids and
small flies. As they grow they shed their exoskeletons
(outer skin). They are not fully grown until late
Summer. Larger mantids eat
insects such as caterpillars, butterflies, moths,
grasshoppers, crickets, flies, bees, wasps, katydids, and
beetles. They also eat other creatures, such as spiders and
small frogs. Copyright, Les
Daniels
Chinese Mantids are fairly strong fliers, but they only fly in order to get to a new perch, or to escape a predator.
Smaller nymphs have many predators, including birds, frogs, toads, lizards, spiders, ants, and bats. Larger Mantids have some of the same predators, but not as many. Mostly they are eaten by larger birds.
Copyright, John White
Download
Quicktime if you are unable
to play video.
Relationships in Nature:
Gray Tree Frog
Relationship to Humans:
Chinese Mantids are considered very helpful by people. They eat large numbers of insects. What people don't know is that they probably eat as many "good" insects as "bad" insects. Many people also buy oothecas to put in their gardens, hoping that they'll have plenty of mantids to eat pests. However, mantids usually travel a fairly long distance away from where they are born. If they stuck around, they would all eat each other! Mantids are not pests, but they are sometimes attracted to lights and can be seen on window screens at night.
