European Mantis

New Jersey has quite a few invasive mantises (in number of individuals more than number of species), and this is one of them. This species, the European Mantis, is intermediate in size between the small native Carolina Mantis and the large invasive Chinese Mantis (and its relative the Narrow-winged Mantis).

Size isn't sufficient for identification though, since a Chinese Mantis that hasn't molted to its full size could be the size of an adult European Mantis. The best "tell" is on the inside of its front legs; you can see part of a black-and-white spot near the top of the leg. This is something you shouldn't see in any other NJ mantis.

It's a little controversial how we should react to these mantises. Historically farmers and gardeners like mantises because they are predators that eat other insects, and the invasive mantises will certainly do that. But they do disrupt our native ecosystems, at least partly because of their larger size. They may eat smaller predators (like Carolina Mantises, dragonflies, or robber flies), or (in the case of the Chinese Mantis) our hummingbirds or small amphibians.

August 19, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 152592632, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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