Carolina Mantis

I found this little lady on the patio this afternoon, waiting for a snack to wander past. She is an adult Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina), a species endemic to the Southeastern US. According to BugGuide.net, "stagmo" is a Greek word meaning "a drop," presumably for the beige-colored spots on her backside.

The creature in the photo is definitely female, as the abdomen is larger than the male's. The female also has shorter wings which are incapable of flight (they're the darker parts that are folded down onto the top of the abdomen in the above shot). The male's wings are longer and are capable of flight, to go in search of a female with which to mate.

This species is endemic to most of the US (especially the central and southeastern regions) as well as Central America, South America, and Trinidad. ^[3]

All species of "praying mantis" (so called because their forelimbs often appear folded, as if in prayer) are friends to farmers and gardeners because they eat many other pests that can be problematic. The folding of the front legs is a hunting tactic, as the legs can quickly unfold to snag prey. Some garden centers sell eggs in the form of an ootheca...

New word of the day: Ootheca

An ootheca /oʊ.əˈθiːkə/ is a type of egg mass made by any member of a variety of species (usually insects or mollusks). The word is a Latinized combination of oo-, meaning "egg", from the Greek word ōon (cf. Latin ovum), and theca, meaning a "cover" or "container", from the Greek theke. Ootheke is Greek for ovary. ^[2]

When the eggs hatch, the young mantids will wander off to stake their own territory because they have a tendency to eat each other if food is not plentiful. In fact, the female mantis will often devour the male after mating.^[2]

Additional information about these amazing creatures can be found on the webiste of the University of Kentucky's Entomology Department.

⭐️ ≡ The More You Know ≡ ⭐️