Arizona Mantis (Praying Mantis (Order Mantodea) of the United States)

Arizona Mantis

Stagmomantis limbata

Stagmomantis limbata ²

Stagmomantis limbata, common nameBordered Mantis or Arizona Mantis, is a species of praying mantis native to North America.^[1]^[2]^[3] This beneficial insect is green or beige in color and grows up to around 3 inches long.^[4]

1Behavior
2Description
3Habitat
4Range
5Additional Images
6See also
7References

Behavior[edit source | edit]

Stagmomantis limbata are attracted to lights, and males often fly to lights in numbers, but females are unable to fly.^[5]

Description[edit source | edit]

S. limbata is a moderately large mantid. The facial plate (below and between antennae) is about twice as wide as it is long, typical of the genus, though the eyes are not as protruding as the Carolina Mantid's. Females are most often fairly plain green (often with a yellowish abdomen), but sometimes gray, or light brown, with dark spot in middle of the tegmina, which do not completely cover the wide abdomen. Hind wings may be checkered or striped yellow.

Males are slender, long-winged, and variable in color, but most often green and brown with the sides of the folded tegmina green and top brownish (may be solid gray, brown, green, or any combination of these). Abdomen without prominent dark spots on top. The wings are transparent, usually with cloudy brownish spots on outer half.^[6]

Habitat[edit source | edit]

Variable, often in open semi-arid areas in tall forbs, shrubs, or trees, but more abundant in lusher, often riparian and wooded areas of streamsides, roadsides, canyons, in towns, etc.^[7]