Sumatran Stick Mantis vs Broad-Shouldered Water Strider

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sumatran Stick Mantis Broad-Shouldered Water Strider
Scientific Name Toxodera hauseri Microvelia americana
Order Mantodea Hemiptera
Family Toxoderidae Veliidae
Size 65-90 mm 1.5-2.5 mm
Habitat Forests Ponds & Lakes
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Sumatra, Indonesia North America, Central America, South America
Conservation Data Deficient Least Concern

Sumatran Stick Mantis

A slender stick mantis found in the montane forests of Sumatra. It is one of the few Toxodera species adapted to cooler highland conditions.

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Did You Know?

It lives at elevations above 1,000 meters, unusually high for a tropical stick mantis.

Broad-Shouldered Water Strider

A tiny water strider relative that walks on the surface of ponds and puddles. It is widespread across the Americas on still freshwater.

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Did You Know?

At barely 2 mm long, it is so small that it can walk on water trapped in a single hoofprint.