| Stagmomantis californica | |
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| Female California mantis Stagmomantis californica | |
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| Species: | S. limbata
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| Binomial name | |
| Stagmomantis californica Rehn & Hebard, 1909 [1]
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Stagmomantis californica, common name California Mantis, is a species of praying mantis in the genus Stagmomantis native to the Western United States.[2]
Description edit
Adult members of this species range in size from 50-60mm in body length. There are green, yellow, and brown varieties, with males of the species tending to have dark transverse bands on the top of the abdomen. The wings of both sexes are mottled or suffused with dark brown or black and often appear purplish at the base where they attach to the thorax. In all other physical respects they closely resemble other members of their mantid order, two of which are native to the state of California (the other is the slightly smaller and much rarer Stagmomantis carolina).
Habitat edit
Within California, this common insect occurs throughout the warmer and dryer regions of the southern part of the state below elevations of 10,000 feet.[3] They prefer chaparral and desert environments with sufficient vegetation (the creosote bush is a favorite) in which they can climb, hide, and hunt. Their range extends from all of southern California north into the Central Valley and then eastward into Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and western Texas.
Behavior and ecology edit
Like all mantises, the California mantis is carnivorous, consuming virtually any other insect it perceives as small enough to be eaten, including other members of its own species. Males and females come together to reproduce but otherwise the adults are strictly solitary. Nymphs hatch in the spring from hard egg cases laid the previous fall. Adults do not overwinter-- lifespan is seldom more than one year and usually less than nine months, with females sometimes surviving longer into the winter season than males, presumably allowing the females more time to lay their hardened frothy egg cases on suitable vegetation or rocks before dying. Though fast runners, both sexes are also capable of using their wings for flight, and the males are especially good flyers: the wings of the male extend well beyond the end of the abdomen, whereas those of the female do not extend more than half this distance. Males are often attracted to bright lights at night and can sometimes be found swarming around them along with other insects. Ambush hunters, though, they fly at night primarily for dispersal, not in search of food.
References edit
- ^ "Stagmomantis californica". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ [1] Tree of Life Web Project. Stagmomantis. Version 22 November 2005
- ^ Hall, Clarence A. (1991). Natural history of the White-Inyo Range, eastern California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p. 255. ISBN 0-520-06895-5. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
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Category:Mantidae Category:Insects of North America Category:Animals described in 1909
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