Mantises
Order Mantodea
137 speciesPredatory insects known for their raptorial forelegs and triangular heads that can rotate 180 degrees. They are ambush predators with excellent binocular vision.
Species in this Order
Roeder's Dead Leaf Mantis
Acanthops roederiana
A dark brown dead leaf mantis from the Amazon basin named after entomologist Roeder. Its serrated pr...
Rufous Bark Mantis
Amorphoscelis rufula
A reddish-brown bark mantis from Central Africa that blends with red-barked tropical trees. Its rufo...
Saharan Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila braueri
A ground-dwelling mantis adapted to the harsh Saharan environment. It is nearly wingless and relies ...
Sinai Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila rotundipennis
A pale yellow desert mantis from the Sinai Peninsula with rounded wing remnants. It is one of the be...
Small Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila typhon
A tiny, wingless mantis found in the Sahara Desert that runs across open sand to catch prey. Its pal...
Somali Conehead Mantis
Empusa somalica
A rare conehead mantis found in the Horn of Africa's arid scrublands. Its sandy coloration provides ...
South American Dead Leaf Mantis
Acanthops falcataria
A spectacular dead leaf mimic from South American forests with crumpled, leaf-shaped wings. Its brow...
Spiny Dead Leaf Mantis
Acanthops tuberculata
A heavily textured dead leaf mantis covered in bumps and tubercles from northern South America. The ...
Spiny Flower Mantis
Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii
Small, colorful mantis with spectacular eye-like patterns on its wings displayed in a threat pose. W...
Spotted Bark Mantis
Amorphoscelis guttata
A spotted bark mantis from East Africa with small dots scattered across its wings and body. The spot...
Springbok Mantis
Miomantis caffra
A small bright green mantis native to southern Africa that has become invasive in New Zealand. Femal...
Sri Lankan Green Mantis
Hierodula patellifera
A common bright green mantis found across tropical Asia and parts of Oceania. It is highly adaptable...
Stick Mantis
Popa spurca
A twig-mimicking mantis with lobed legs and bark-like body texture....
Stripe-winged Bark Mantis
Liturgusa algorei
A bark mantis named after Al Gore, found in the Amazonian forests of South America. It has distincti...
Sulawesi Stick Mantis
Toxodera celebensis
A stick mantis endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is part of the island's unique fau...
Sumatran Stick Mantis
Toxodera hauseri
A slender stick mantis found in the montane forests of Sumatra. It is one of the few Toxodera specie...
Tanzanian Conehead Mantis
Empusa conversii
An East African conehead mantis found in the dry woodlands of Tanzania. It has a well-developed head...
Tanzanian Flower Mantis
Pseudocreobotra gratiosus
A graceful flower mantis from East African coastal forests. It has a predominantly white body with s...
Tanzanian Ground Mantis
Galepsus sp.
A small, dark-colored ground-dwelling mantis found in East African grasslands. It hunts by running a...
Tessellated Bark Mantis
Liturgusa tessellata
A bark mantis with a tessellated mosaic-like pattern on its wings from the Amazon basin. The intrica...
Texas Unicorn Mantis
Phyllovates chlorophaea
A medium-sized green mantis with a distinctive horn-like process on its head. It is found in the sou...
Thistle Mantis
Blepharopsis mendica
A graceful desert mantis with feathered antennae and a crown-like crest on its head. It has a slende...
Tiger Bark Mantis
Amorphoscelis tigrina
A small bark-dwelling mantis with tiger-like striped markings from East Africa. Its banded pattern m...
Trinidad Bark Mantis
Liturgusa trinidadensis
A rare bark mantis known only from the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is one of the few bar...
Tunisian Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila berndstiewi
A recently described desert mantis from southern Tunisia. It has an extremely flattened body that he...
Unicorn Mantis
Pseudovates peruviana
A slender mantis with a horn-like projection on its head and lobed leg extensions. Its green and bro...
Venezuelan Bark Mantis
Liturgusa fossetti
A small bark mantis from Venezuela described in the 2014 revision of the genus. It has subtle brown ...
Vietnamese Flower Mantis
Creobroter elongata
A small, slender flower mantis found in Vietnam and southern China. It has elongated wings with subt...
Violin Mantis
Gongylus gongylodes
Named for its elongated prothorax resembling a violin neck. Has leaf-like lobes on all legs and a di...
Wahlberg Mantis
Polyspilota aeruginosa
A large robust mantis with spectacular spiral-patterned inner forewings....
Wahlberg's Flower Mantis
Pseudocreobotra amarae
A small East African flower mantis with spiny projections on its abdomen and thorax. Its coloring ra...
Wahlberg's Velvet Mantis
Ameles decolor
A small ground-dwelling mantis from the Mediterranean. Females are wingless and brachypterous while ...
Wandering Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila cerisyi
A tiny, wingless praying mantis that runs across desert sand like a spider. Its flattened, sand-colo...
Wandering Violin Mantis
Gongylus gongyloides
An extremely bizarre-looking mantis with an elongated thorax, leaf-like appendages, and a violin-sha...
Wide Dead Leaf Mantis
Acanthops platycephala
A broad-headed dead leaf mantis from the Amazon basin with a distinctively flattened head. Its wide ...
Yemeni Conehead Mantis
Empusa mendicaria
A slender conehead mantis from the Arabian Peninsula with a well-developed head process. It inhabits...
Yemeni Desert Mantis
Eremiaphila zetterstedti
A small, agile desert mantis found in the Arabian Peninsula. It is adapted to extremely arid habitat...