CLOSED: praying mantis id

crockny Kerhonkson, NY(Zone 5a) Oct 08, 2008

Is this a chinese praying mantis or a native one? How can you tell the difference?

suunto Sinks Grove, WV Oct 09, 2008

This appears to be a female Chinese mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tenodera_aridifolia_sinensis_AdultFemaleFront.jp
The main differnence between this species and native ones is sheer size; the Chinese mantis is much larger than any native species. The only other one that compares is another introduced species, the European mantis (Mantis religiosa) - it can be distinguished by the prominent 'eye spots' on the underside of its fore legs - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:NKN-2007-08-18_081042_praying_mantis_(Yvan_Leduc_author_for_Wikipedia).jpg

crockny Kerhonkson, NY(Zone 5a) Oct 09, 2008

Thanks suunto -- your links didn't work for me -- I'll mark this as solved ...

suunto Sinks Grove, WV Oct 09, 2008

Hmmmm. I don't understand why the links don't work, but if you Google images on the specific names of the mantids, you will get plenty of examples.

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