Praying mantis or European mantis - Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

See also

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Family: Mantidae

Mantis religiosa, with the common name praying mantis, and outside Europe the European mantis, is an insect in the family Mantidae. It is one of the most well-known and widespread species of the order Mantodea, the Mantis.

It is an example of a common name for a single insect species becoming used for a larger group of related species. "Mantis" now refers to the insect order Mantodea, and the other families, genera, and species within it. Other examples are "hornet" and "wasp."

Mantis religiosa is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. It was introduced to North America in 1899 on a shipment of nursery plants from southern Europe. Now it is found from the Northeastern United States to the Pacific Northwest, and across Canada.

Despite being an introduced species, it is the official state insect of Connecticut.

The European mantis is usually 5–7.5 cm (2–3 inches) in length, and has shades of bright green to tan. It can be distinguished easily by a black-ringed spot beneath the fore coxae. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Potamia 31/5/2011 by George Konstantinou

Mediterranean mantis or Iris mantis - Iris oratoria (Linne, 1758) - Cyprus

See also

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Family: Eremiaphilidae

Iris oratoria, known by the common name Mediterranean mantis or (less frequently) iris mantis, is a widespread species of praying mantis native to Europe. It is found as an introduced species in the Middle East, Western Asia and the United States. Iris oratoriainvaded southern California in the 1930s and seems to be spreading

The Mediterranean mantis is known for two distinctive behaviours, apart from the ambush hunting common to other mantids: cannibalism and deimatic or threat displays. The sexual cannibalism of mantids known in popular culture occurs in roughly one quarter of all in tersexual encounters of I. oratoria.

When the mantis is under attack, it sets in motion a complex series of actions which combine to form a startling deimatic display. The mantis turns to face the aggressor, rears up by arching its back, curls its abdomen upwards (dorsiflexion), raises and waves its forelimbs, raises its wings to displays the large brightly coloured eyespots on the hindwings, and stridulates by scraping the edge of its hindwings against its tegmina, the leathery front wings

Compared to Stagmomantis limbata Iris oratoria eats a lesser portion of Orthopteran insects and does not eat as much long bodied insects. S. limbata adults have longer pronota and forelegs than I. oratoria adults. This difference in body size might be an important cause of the dietary differences between the species. Furthermore, the earlier hatch date for S. limbata also might reduce the overlap in Iris oratoria and Stagmomantis limbatadiets. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Potamia 1/7/2006 by George Konstantinou

Empusa fasciata Brullé 1832 - Cyprus

See also

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Family: Empusidae

Empusa fasciata laying eggs

Empusa fasciata is a species of praying mantis in the genus Empusa in the order Mantodea.


The praying mantid Empusa fasciata has a tapering head with a miter-like helmet, oval compound eyes, slender raptorial forelegs and a long thin thorax. E. fasciata often bends sharply upward at the abdomen, making the thorax appear even longer. The ventral abdomen and the femurs of the long thin walking legs have distinct lobules, which serve as camouflage. Due to its bizarre shape and the yellowish-green striped pattern of the legs, E. fasciata is well-camouflaged in vegetation, and is noticeable only when in motion.

E. fasciata can be found from western Asia to the northeastern coast of Italy, and appears most commonly in the southern Balkans. It prefers xerothermic sites. For example, on the Adriatic coast E. fasciata is found mainly on south-facing flysch and karst slopes, where Mantis religiosa can also occur. From Croatia to the bay of Trieste, E. fasciata reaches its adult stage in May. Mating can occur repeatedly, and females lay their eggs on vegetation. The adult males die soon after mating, and the females after oviposition. The larvae hatch in July and overwinter in the pre-adult stage

E. fasciata is a highly successful ambush predator. In the course of evolution, it has specialized in preying on fast flying insects, such as flies and bees. One reason for this preference may be that flying insects serve as nutritious food, which is important in the spring when there is a limited food supply. Adult females often perch on flowers, where they wait to prey on honeybees. Insect prey can be captured upon landing, or even during flight, due to the fast strike of E. fasciata and its ability to rotate its head and the two powerful raptorial forelegs more than 90° laterally, without moving the rest of its body. E. fasciata shows no evidence of being cannibalistic. Distinct rocking and jerking movements are executed, which not only serve as camouflage in moving vegetation, but also facilitate spatial vision with the aid of motion parallax or retinal image displacement. 
Among the Mantodea, E. fasciata is a relatively good flyer. The fore and hind wings are moved up and down simultaneously, at a rate of about thirty wingbeats per second. E. fasciata is generally diurnal, however males fly at night to find pheromone plumes emitted by sexually active females. The odor receptors used for this are located on the long feathered antennae. There is evidence that flying males are able to avoid attack by bats due to the ability to detect sounds in the frequency range (50 - 100 kHz) used by bats for echolocation. The auditory system found in various mantis species is a single ear, and is situated in the ventral midline of the thorax near the junction with the abdomen.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Potamia 14/6/2006 by George Konstantinou

Rivetina baetica (Rambur, 1839) - Cyprus

Family: Rivetinidae

Rivetina baetica is a species of praying mantis in the genus Rivetina

See also

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Photos Potamia by George Konstantinou

Heldreich's Dwarf Mantis - Ameles heldreichi (Brunner von Wattenwyl 1882) - Cyprus

Family: Amelidae

Ameles heldreichi is a species of praying mantis that lives

in France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Libya, Palestine, Turkey, and Cyprus. Type locality is Putini (Croatia) .

Ameles is a wide-ranging genus of praying mantises represented in Africa, Asia, and Europe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Photos  Meneou , 27/7/2015  by George Konstantinou

Devil's flower mantis, Egyptian flower mantis, Thistle mantis, or Arab mantis - Blepharopsis mendica (Fabricius, 1775) - Cyprus

See also

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Family: Empusidae

Blepharopsis mendica is a species of praying mantis found in Cyprus, North Africa and on the Canary Islands. devil's flower mantis, Egyptian flower mantis, thistle mantis, and Arab mantis are among its common names.

In deimatic display, the adult rotates its head and thorax to one side, displaying the bright colours on the insides of its forelegs and the undersides of its hindwings, and holds its wings slightly spread behind the body, making it seem large and threatening. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Photos Nicosia by George Konstantinou

African mantis, Giant African mantis, or Bush mantis - Sphodromantis viridis (Forsskål, 1775) - Cyprus

See also

All about Cyprus - Όλα για την Κύπρο

Οι μάντιδες της Κύπρου - Του Γιώργου Κωνσταντίνου - Εφημερίδα πολίτης 26/7/2020

Family: Mantidae

Ο Sphodromantis viridis ανήκει στο γένος Sphodromantis και στην οικογένεια των Mantidae και αποτελεί το μεγαλύτερο από τα οκτώ είδη που συναντάμε στην Κύπρο και το θηλυκό μπορεί να φτάσει σε μέγεθος μέχρι και δέκα πόντους. Λόγω του μεγάλου του μεγέθους είναι ένα από τα είδη που χρησιμοποιούν ορισμένοι άνθρωποι ανά τον κόσμο ως κατοικίδια. Το συναντάμε εκτός από την Κύπρο στη Δυτική Αφρική, επίσης στο Ισραήλ και στην Ισπανία ως εισαγόμενο είδος.

Εχθροί αυτών των εντόμων -από ανθρώπινους παράγοντες- είναι οι αλόγιστοι ψεκασμοί και η  καταστροφή των βιοτόπων, ενώ από φυσικούς παράγοντες είναι η θήρευσή τους από πολλά είδη πουλιών, τρωκτικών, σκαντζόχοιρων και ερπετών που γι' αυτά τα αλογάκια της Παναγίας αποτελούν λιχουδιά. Ένας άλλος μεγάλος εχθρός είναι μερικά είδη παρασιτικών σφηκών που εναποθέτουν με έναν ειδικό ωοθέτη τα αβγά τους μέσα στις ωοθήκες των μάντιδων και οι κάμπιες τους όταν εκκολαπτούν τρέφονται με τα αβγά και τις προνύμφες των μάντιδων. Ένα παρασιτικό σκουλήκι το Horsehair worms - Horsehair worms - Gordius aquaticus παρασιτεί στα έντομα αυτά και μπορεί να μεγαλώσει μέχρι και ένα μέτρο μέσα στην κοιλιά τους.

Sphodromantis viridis is a species of praying mantis that is kept worldwide as a pet. Its common names include African mantis,giant African mantis, and bush mantis
S. viridis is native to Cyprus, West Africa south of the Sahara desert. It can also be found as an introduced species in areas outside its original range including Israel and Spain.

Despite its scientific name (viridis is Latin for green) this insect ranges in color from bright green to dull brown. Females can reach 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length. Due to the sexual dimorphism typical of mantises, the male is much smaller. Females may also be distinguished from males as they have six segmented abdomens compared to an eight segmented abdomens of the males.

As adults, both sexes have a distinctive white spot on their wings. They have a yellowish color on their inner foreleg distinguishable from the black eyespot and white dots of the European mantis Mantis religiosa with whom it shares some range.

As with most mantis species, S. viridis males are frequently the victims of sexual cannibalism. Female produce an ootheca within a few days of mating and can produce several before she ends her life cycle. Each ootheca produces up to three hundred nymphs when it hatches. This species has also been noted to have produced parthenogenically. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Nicosia by George Konstantinou