---
title: "What the sources say about the European Mantis | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "50 claims from the European Mantis profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the European Mantis (*Mantis religiosa*)

> 50 claims from the European Mantis profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [European Mantis](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-mantis/)

## Battiston (2016). Mantis religiosa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T44793247A44798476.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2016-1.rlts.t44793247a44798476.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus) |

## European Mantid, Mantis religiosa. Montana Field Guide, Montana Natural Heritage Program.

https://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IIMAN01010

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Adults range from 4.2 to 8.8 cm long | Adults range in length from 4.2 to 8.8 cm (1.7 to 3.5 in). |
| A Montana field guide calls it a generalist predator, as likely to take beneficial pollinators and small birds as garden pests | It is a generalist predator as likely to prey on beneficial pollinators and small birds as garden pests |
| The European mantis is native to Eurasia | The species is native to Eurasia and has been accidentally and intentionally introduced to the United States and Canada. |
| People have carried it to the United States and Canada both by accident and on purpose | The species is native to Eurasia and has been accidentally and intentionally introduced to the United States and Canada. |
| it is released into gardens to control insects | As the species is released into gardens to control insect populations individuals are often encountered in urban and exurban environments. |
| native to Eurasia and introduced to North America | The species is native to Eurasia and has been accidentally and intentionally introduced to the United States and Canada. (note: stats.habitat) |

## 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.

https://www.entomoljournal.com/archives/2016/vol4issue6/PartG/4-5-177-186.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The species comes in green and brown forms | Here we observed most of brown or straw colored morphs in summer season (February to June) along with some green colored morphs |
| older studies noticed green mantises on green grass and brown ones on dried, straw-colored grass | Earlier studies on the morphological changes in M. religiosa religiosa noticed that the green form is always found upon green grass and the brown form found upon dried straw colored grass |
| In a lab rearing of the subspecies Mantis religiosa religiosa | The lifecycle study of M. religiosa religiosa was studied under laboratory condition at 25 °C to 35 °C and 60% to 70% RH. |
| the egg case took about 18 days to incubate | The incubation duration of ootheca is about 18 days while nymphal duration is about 61 days with six moults. |
| lasted about 61 days and included six moults | The incubation duration of ootheca is about 18 days while nymphal duration is about 61 days with six moults. |
| Adult males then lived 35 to 60 days | Adult male 35 60 48.9 |
| adult females 70 to 90 | Adult female 70 90 81.27 |
| the first two nymph stages ate only fruit flies | First two instars completely depended on the diet of Drosophila |
| older nymphs and adults fed mainly on grasshoppers and crickets | Later in stars and adults fed mainly on the diet of nymphs and adults of grasshopper and crickets |
| Insects such as grasshoppers, aphids and planthoppers | M. religiosa religiosa is predatory on grasshoppers, aphids, planthoppers etc. (note: stats.diet) |
| In one lab rearing of the subspecies Mantis religiosa religiosa | The lifecycle study of M. religiosa religiosa was studied under laboratory condition at 25 °C to 35 °C and 60% to 70% RH. (note: faq) |
| grown males lived a mean of about 49 days | Adult male 35 60 48.9 (note: faq) |
| grown females about 81 | Adult female 70 90 81.27 (note: faq) |
| about 18 days in the egg case and about 61 as nymphs | The incubation duration of ootheca is about 18 days while nymphal duration is about 61 days with six moults. (note: faq) |

## Reitze & Nentwig (1991). Comparative investigations into the feeding ecology of six Mantodea species. Oecologia.

https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00318324

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In feeding tests on six mantis species, this one included, mantids stalked their prey and pounced, grasping it with their forelegs | Six mantid species (Sphodromantis viridis, Polyspilota aeruginosa, Hierodula unimaculata, Parasphendale agrionia, Mantis religiosa and Empusa pennata) were studied in laboratory feeding experiments. Mantids stalk their prey and pounce on it, grasping it with their forelegs. |
| They took only living prey and noticed only moving prey | Only living prey is selected and it is consumed directly after the catch. The predator orients itself optically, and therefore only takes notice of moving prey. |
| On average they ate crickets 50% of their own body weight, while cockroaches could weigh up to 110% | On average mantids eat crickets of 50% their own body-weight while cockroaches can weigh up to 110%. |
| Not in lab tests | Six mantid species (Sphodromantis viridis, Polyspilota aeruginosa, Hierodula unimaculata, Parasphendale agrionia, Mantis religiosa and Empusa pennata) were studied in laboratory feeding experiments. (note: faq) |
| Across six mantis species, this one among them | Six mantid species (Sphodromantis viridis, Polyspilota aeruginosa, Hierodula unimaculata, Parasphendale agrionia, Mantis religiosa and Empusa pennata) were studied in laboratory feeding experiments. (note: faq) |
| mantids picked only live prey and ate it straight after the catch | Only living prey is selected and it is consumed directly after the catch. The predator orients itself optically, and therefore only takes notice of moving prey. (note: faq) |
| They hunt by sight, so prey registers only when it moves | Only living prey is selected and it is consumed directly after the catch. The predator orients itself optically, and therefore only takes notice of moving prey. (note: faq) |

## Yager & Hoy (1989). Audition in the praying mantis,Mantis religiosa L.: identification of an interneuron mediating ultrasonic hearing. Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00611236

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| tuned to ultrasound | MR-501-T3 is tuned broadly to ultrasound with best sensitivity (55-60 dB SPL) between 25 and 45 kHz. (note: tagline) |
| The ear is tuned broadly to ultrasound, with its best sensitivity between 25 and 45 kHz | MR-501-T3 is tuned broadly to ultrasound with best sensitivity (55-60 dB SPL) between 25 and 45 kHz. Its tuning matches closely that of the whole tympanal nerve. |
| a pair of nerve cells carrying this hearing | a mirror-image pair of interneurons (MR-501-T3) in the metathoracic ganglion that mediates ultrasonic hearing |
| 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 | We present arguments based on our physiological results and existing behavioral data that MR-501-T3 is part of an ultrasonic warning/escape system in the mantis. As in moths, lacewings, and crickets, this system may provide a defense against nocturnally foraging bats. |
| In the midline of its underside, on the rear part of its thorax | The praying mantis possesses a single ear located in the ventral midline of the metathorax. (note: faq) |
| Its ear picks up ultrasound best between 25 and 45 kHz | MR-501-T3 is tuned broadly to ultrasound with best sensitivity (55-60 dB SPL) between 25 and 45 kHz. (note: faq) |
| tuned broadly to ultrasound and most sensitive between 25 and 45 kHz | MR-501-T3 is tuned broadly to ultrasound with best sensitivity (55-60 dB SPL) between 25 and 45 kHz. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Yager & Hoy (1987). The midline metathoracic ear of the praying mantis, Mantis religiosa. Cell and Tissue Research.

https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00218944

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A mantis that hears with a single ear on its underside | The praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, is unique in possessing a single, tympanal auditory organ located in the ventral midline of its body (note: tagline) |
| A single ear on its underside, tuned to ultrasound | The praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, is unique in possessing a single, tympanal auditory organ located in the ventral midline of its body (note: stats.superpower) |
| hears with a single ear in the middle of its underside | The praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, is unique in possessing a single, tympanal auditory organ located in the ventral midline of its body |
| The ear sits in a deep groove and is built from two eardrums that face each other, backed by large air sacs | The ear is in a deep groove and consists of two tympana facing each other and backed by large air sacs. |
| The European mantis hears with a single ear on its underside | The praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, is unique in possessing a single, tympanal auditory organ located in the ventral midline of its body (note: vibe.reason) |

## Linn & Griebeler (2016). Habitat Preference of GermanMantis religiosaPopulations (Mantodea: Mantidae) and Implications for Conservation. Environmental Entomology.

https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvw056

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a 2016 study called it endangered in Germany | In Germany, the thermophilic European mantid (Mantis religiosa L.) is endangered. |

## Liana (2007). Distribution of Mantis religiosa (L.) and its changes in Poland. Fragmenta Faunistica.

https://doi.org/10.3161/00159301ff2007.50.2.091

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| It was introduced from Europe to New York state in 1899 | The praying mantis was introduced from Europe to the state of New York in 1899 and then expanded to most states in north-western part of the USA and to the state of Ontario in Canada. |
| It loves heat | Mantis religiosa is a highly thermophilous insect |
| In Poland, over 70% of recent sites were near a forest edge or partly open | ecotonal sites (usually a few or several dozen metres from a wall of forest) or partially open sites constitute over 70% of all sites recorded during recent research |
| mainly fallow land and wasteland with dry sandy grassland | There are mainly new, unstable biotopes (fallow lands and wastelands) with dry sandy grassland. |
| These are often old fields that were farmed several years earlier or more recently | They are often situated in the areas which are defined as agricultural land because several years ago or even more recently they were really cultivated. |
| Warm, open sites such as dry sandy grassland and fallow land | There are mainly new, unstable biotopes (fallow lands and wastelands) with dry sandy grassland. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Warm, open sites such as dry sandy grassland and fallow land | Mantis religiosa is a highly thermophilous insect (note: stats.habitat) |
| No. It was brought from Europe to New York state in 1899, and it later spread as far as Ontario in Canada | The praying mantis was introduced from Europe to the state of New York in 1899 and then expanded to most states in north-western part of the USA and to the state of Ontario in Canada. (note: faq) |