Three Mantids of The Southeast

There are many species of mantids in the southeast but today I'm going to focus on three specific ones:

Stagmomantis carolina (Carolina Mantid)

Stagmomantis floridensis (Larger Florida Mantid)

Tenodera sinensis (Chinese Mantid)

Stagmomantis carolina

The Stagmomantis carolina is the state insect of South Carolina, where I live. It is not very big but it is quite colorful. They make good pets and are easy to take care of. I keep them in large numbers, in separate cages. I suggest this species for  any mantid breeder. 

Color-

The Stagmomantis carolina, or the carolina mantis, is known for it's many color forms. Some of the ones I've seen over the years are green, black, silver, grey, blue-green, brown, tan, and even multi-colored.

          Green female                                                       Light grey female

   

Size-

Males: 42-55mm (With one freak specimen almost 61mm). 48mm is about average.

Females: 42-62mm (Usually well over 50mm). 54mm is about average.

Behavior-

Males: They are great fliers and are known to come to lights at night in large numbers. They are very swift runners also, quite hard to catch after spotting in a bush. You should feed them moths, small grasshopper nymphs, lacewings, flies, or soft-winged beetles.

Females: They are flightless, as their wings only cover 3/4 of their abdomen. Their running is very fast. They will occasionally show their wings for threat display but I rarely see such behavior. The females of this species tend to not be aggressive with each-other. You should feed them small to medium sized grasshopper nymphs/adults, soft-winged beetles, moths, lacewings, or flies. 

Found in-

Gardens, street sides, fields, high grass, scrub, and shrubbery. All over the east and even in parts of the west. 

Stagmomantis floridensis

A lot like Stagmomantis carolina, just larger and a little less colorful. I currently have none of these but my cousin has some of them (all pictures of this species come from him). A very interesting species. Not much is known about them. They are like a bigger version of Stagmomantis carolina, as I said earlier. Their thoraxes are a little different than that of  Stagmomantis carolina, being proportionately longer and thinner. 

           A female nymph

Color-

Not as colorful as the Stagmomantis carolina but still VERY colorful. Often grey, brown, or green. Sometimes with a blue tint or even a bit of silver. 

Size- 

Males: 62-74mm. 65mm is about average. 

Females: 68-78mm. 74mm is about average. 

Behavior-

Males: Same as Stagmomantis carolina, except probably a bigger appetite. 

Females: Same as Stagmomantis carolina, except probably a bigger appetite. 

Found in-

Gardens, street sides, fields, high grass, scrub, and shrubbery. Restricted to Florida. 

Tenodera sinensis

The Tenodera sinensis is an imported species from Asia. It is known to be the largest species in the US. It is popular among breeders but it is also hard to raise from nymph to adulthood. If caught as an adult though, they are simple to keep. A very interesting mantid. 

Color-

Green or brown usually. Sometimes a sort of tan color. Their forewing's front margin is usually a strong green color. A very noticeable feature in this species. 

Size-

Males: 85-95mm. 89mm is about average.

Females: 90-110mm. 94mm is about average. 

Behavior-

Males: They can fly but they are quite clumsy, sometimes crashing into things then falling to the ground. They eat a pretty good amount of food. Grasshoppers seem to be the best thing for them though most other insects will do.

Females: Some of the lighter-bodied ones can fly a little. Not great though. It's mostly just used as a sort of landing gear for jumping from high places. They eat a LOT of food. Feed them lots of large grasshoppers and other large insects. Cicadas are known to work as feeders but grasshoppers are easier to catch. 

Found in-

Gardens, street sides, fields, high grass, scrub, and shrubbery. Found all over the east and in some parts of the west. Originally from Asia, where there are many other Tenodera spp (the only other Tenodera in the US is Tenodera angustipennis).