Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758)

Praying Mantid

Taxonomy: Dictyoptera>>Mantodea>>Mantinae

Status: British Isles non-native species.

Description: Usually green, sometimes brown.

Size: Males smaller than females.

Wings: Both sexes are fully winged and fly well in warm weather.

Food: Carnivorous, feeding on other insects including grasshoppers and bush crickets.

Habitat: Native to Southern and Central Europe, inhabiting uncut grassland and shrubs. Only found in the UK on one occasion in 1959 in East Sussex.

Phenology: In the native range, adults appear from July to November.

Distribution: This species is not present in the National Biodiversity Network Database currently (October 2008).