--- title: "European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A mantis that hears with a single ear on its underside, tuned to ultrasound." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/european-mantis-1.webp" published: "2026-09-29" updated: "2026-09-29" --- # European Mantis (*Mantis religiosa*) > **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A mantis that hears with a single ear on its underside, tuned to ultrasound. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: IDM & Glitch Ambient Synthesis // Ryoji Ikeda, "data.matrix" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZmSq1xJbf1IptikZZgvJ6) > **Vibe Match**: The European mantis hears with a single ear on its underside, tuned broadly to ultrasound and most sensitive between 25 and 45 kHz. Ryoji Ikeda's data.matrix is built from pure sine tones and clicks pushed toward the top of what people can hear. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Mantis religiosa* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-1.rlts.t44793247a44798476.en)) - **Superpower**: A single ear on its underside, tuned to ultrasound - **Habitat**: Warm, open sites such as dry sandy grassland and fallow land; native to Eurasia and introduced to North America - **Diet**: Insects such as grasshoppers, aphids and planthoppers - **Tags**: insect, ambush-predator, camouflage, carnivore, grassland ## Natural History & Behavior ## An ear on its belly The European mantis, *Mantis religiosa*, hears with a single ear in the middle of its underside. The ear sits in a deep groove and is built from two eardrums that face each other, backed by large air sacs. > **Ultrasound detector** The ear is tuned broadly to ultrasound, with its best sensitivity between 25 and 45 kHz. The researchers who traced it argue that a pair of nerve cells carrying this hearing is part of a warning and escape system, which may defend the mantis against bats hunting at night. ## Size, color and a short life Adults range from 4.2 to 8.8 cm long. The species comes in green and brown forms, and older studies noticed green mantises on green grass and brown ones on dried, straw-colored grass. Life is quick. In a lab rearing of the subspecies *Mantis religiosa religiosa*, the egg case took about 18 days to incubate. The nymph stage, the young form before adulthood, lasted about 61 days and included six moults, which means shedding the old skin. Adult males then lived 35 to 60 days and adult females 70 to 90. That is one subspecies in a lab, so wild lifespans may differ. ## A stalk-and-pounce diet In feeding tests on six mantis species, this one included, mantids stalked their prey and pounced, grasping it with their forelegs. They took only living prey and noticed only moving prey. On average they ate crickets 50% of their own body weight, while cockroaches could weigh up to 110%. In the lab rearing, the first two nymph stages ate only fruit flies, while older nymphs and adults fed mainly on grasshoppers and crickets. A Montana field guide calls it a generalist predator, as likely to take beneficial pollinators and small birds as garden pests. ## From Eurasia to New York The European mantis is native to Eurasia. People have carried it to the United States and Canada both by accident and on purpose, and it is released into gardens to control insects. It was introduced from Europe to New York state in 1899. It loves heat. In Poland, over 70% of recent sites were near a forest edge or partly open, mainly fallow land and wasteland with dry sandy grassland. These are often old fields that were farmed several years earlier or more recently. The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern, although a 2016 study called it endangered in Germany. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Where is the European mantis's ear? In the midline of its underside, on the rear part of its thorax. Its ear picks up ultrasound best between 25 and 45 kHz. *(Source: [Yager & Hoy 1989]())* ### Is the European mantis native to North America? No. It was brought from Europe to New York state in 1899, and it later spread as far as Ontario in Canada. *(Source: [Liana 2007]())* ### How long does a European mantis live? In one lab rearing of the subspecies Mantis religiosa religiosa, grown males lived a mean of about 49 days and grown females about 81. Before that came about 18 days in the egg case and about 61 as nymphs. Wild mantises may live differently. *(Source: [Raut & Gaikwad 2016]())* ### Does a European mantis eat dead insects? Not in lab tests. Across six mantis species, this one among them, mantids picked only live prey and ate it straight after the catch. They hunt by sight, so prey registers only when it moves. *(Source: [Reitze & Nentwig 1991]())* ## Sources 1. [Battiston (2016). Mantis religiosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T44793247A44798476.]() 2. [European Mantid, Mantis religiosa. Montana Field Guide, Montana Natural Heritage Program.]() 3. [Raut & Gaikwad (2016). Observations on the Life cycle, Mating and Cannibalism of Mantis religiosa religiosa Linnaeus, 1758 (Insecta: Mantodea: Mantidae). Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies.]() 4. [Reitze & Nentwig (1991). Comparative investigations into the feeding ecology of six Mantodea species. Oecologia.]() 5. [Yager & Hoy (1989). Audition in the praying mantis,Mantis religiosa L.: identification of an interneuron mediating ultrasonic hearing. Journal of Comparative Physiology A.]() 6. [Yager & Hoy (1987). The midline metathoracic ear of the praying mantis, Mantis religiosa. Cell and Tissue Research.]() 7. [Linn & Griebeler (2016). Habitat Preference of GermanMantis religiosaPopulations (Mantodea: Mantidae) and Implications for Conservation. Environmental Entomology.]() 8. [Liana (2007). Distribution of Mantis religiosa (L.) and its changes in Poland. Fragmenta Faunistica.]() *Published September 29, 2026. 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