The Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) is a species of praying mantis. Originating from China, they were first introduced to North America around 1895 as a source of pest control. Since then, the species has spread throughout much of southern New England, and the Northeast United States, and ootheca can be purchased from plant nurseries nationwide. This species is often erroneously given the taxonomic name of Tenodera aridifolia sinensis; when first classified, T. sinensis was a subspecies of T. aridifolia but T. sinensis is a species now.^[1]

Their diet consists primarily of other insects, though adult females can sometimes take down small vertebrate prey such as reptiles and amphibians (some have also been documented preying on hummingbirds^[2]). Like some other mantids, they are known to be cannibalistic.

Description

The Chinese Mantis looks like a long and slender praying mantis, that are brown and green. It is typically larger than most other praying mantises, adult females are about 8 centimeters in length, and is the largest mantis species in North America. Their color can vary from overall green to brown with a green lateral stripe on the edge of the front wings. In low light the eyes of the mantis appear black, but in daylight appear to be clear, matching the color of the head. Chinese Mantids are slightly different in color and are usually larger than Tenodera aridifolia angustipennis which were introduced to the United States of America as well. One way of telling Tenodera sinensis and Tenodera aridifolia angustipennis apart is by looking at the spot in between their front legs. If it is yellow then it is a Chinese Mantis but if it is orange then it is a Narrow-winged Mantis.

Brown sub-adult female Chinese Mantis yellow spot between the front legs (the spot is more yellow than in the picture) and if it was orange it would be Tenodera aridifolia angustipennis

The female can produce several spherical ootheca roughly the size of a table tennis ball, containing up to 400 eggs. The oothecae are often affixed to vegetation such as bushes and small trees, as seen in the image below.

Captivity

Chinese Mantids are a common pet for mantis enthusiasts.

Care

The Chinese Mantis should be kept in a terrarium roughly 3x its body size. The Chinese Mantis is an aggressive carnivore that will tackle and eat large insects. The Chinese Mantis' diet consists primarily of cockroaches, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers, crickets and spiders. At the first instar, Chinese Mantids will eat Drosophila melanogaster and similar small flies. As they grow larger, Mantids will accept House Flies, Blue Bottle Flies and small roaches.

Mantids drink dew from leaves, so a gentle misting every other day is required. In the terrarium, Mantids require sticks and other foliage for climbing and molting. Mantids will thrive in temperatures ranging from 68 to 100°F. Sudden temperature changes may be fatal.

Predators

Although formidable, the Chinese Mantis is sometimes preyed upon by birds and the Asian Giant Hornet in its native range. The hornets possess a very large, very powerful pincer-like mouth and a poisonous sting, both of which can be lethal to the mantis. The Chinese Mantis tries to avoid them by blending in well in the tall grass or shrubs. However, taking a large Chinese mantis does not come without risks.

Culture

Developed in the Shandong province of China in the mid-1600s, Praying Mantis kung-fu is based on the quick movements and techniques of the Chinese mantis. An unrelated style of kung fu that was developed by the Hakka people in Southern China is known as Southern Praying Mantis.

Additional Images

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  Adult female Chinese Mantis perched in a tree.

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  Adult female Chinese Mantis climbing a tree.

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  Adult Chinese Mantis cleaning itself.

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  Hatchling Chinese mantis on a baby's hand

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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis from front

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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis from side

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  Tenodera sinensis ootheca

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  Adult male Tenodera sinensis

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  Sub-adult or close to sub-adult Tenodera sinensis

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  Adult male Tenodera sinensis

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  Adult male Tenodera sinensis

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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis eating a Long Horned Grasshopper

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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis on arm

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  Underside of an adult female Tenodera sinensis several weeks after molting to adult

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  Sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis on hand

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  Sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis on hand

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  Sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis on hand

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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis on hand

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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis on hand

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  Sub-adult female Chinese Mantis slightly swollen wing-buds

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  Pre-sub-adult female Chinese Mantis

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  Sub-adult female Chinese Mantis on hand

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  Sub-adult female Chinese Mantis on hand

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  Sub-adult female Chinese Mantis on arm

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  Sub-adult Chinese Mantis on hand

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  One green pre-sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis and one brown sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis

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  Pre-sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis

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  Pre-sub-adult female Tenodera sinensis

Sources

• Watkins, Gary. Praying Mantids
• Keeping and breeding Chinese mantis in captivity

See also

• List of mantis genera and species
• Northern Praying Mantis (martial art), a Chinese martial arts style based around the movements of a Mantis.
• Southern Praying Mantis (martial art), a southern Chinese martial arts style developed by the Hakka people, and unrelated to the northern Chinese martial art style of Northern Praying Mantis.

References