European Mantis
Mantis religiosa
Praying mantises occur in green and brown colour forms and are superbly camouflaged in grass. A reliable identification feature is the dark, often pale-centred spot on the inner side of the front coxae.
- Group
- A Small World
- Photos
- 2
- Taken
- 2022
Profile: European Mantis
- Family
- Mantids (Mantidae)
- Size
- Females up to approx. 8 cm, males up to approx. 6 cm
- Habitat
- Warm, dry grassland, often interspersed with shrubs, as well as sunny woodland edges and fallow or derelict land.
- Diet
- Other insects such as grasshoppers, flies and butterflies, seized with its raptorial forelegs from a motionless ambush.
- When to see
- The eggs overwinter in a foamy egg case (ootheca); adults can be found from about late July until the first autumn frosts.
Learn more: Wikipedia · NABU (German)