Why no Mantis religiosa in Southeastern United States?

Why are there no Mantis religiosa in the southeastern US? I am in North Carolina and cannot find any. They live in the Northeastern United States, why have they not spread here?

I can't find them on long island...

Too warm I believe. They need a good cold period in the ooth. We already have two non native species here, don't need another. We have four total species present in NC.

They do not need a cold period. I have read that the northern limit of B. borealis was Raleigh. How about Wake Forest, North Carolina? I could not find any here. The climate should be the same.

Edit: Oh yeah, they do live in Wake County.

So are there no Thesprotia graminis in North Carolina?

Where did you read that M. religiosa did not need a cold period?

These Mantis religiosa live in tropical southern californica.

Tropical?I learned California had a mediterranean climate.M. religiosa species does not like high humidity level¨,they like dry summers,that s why it is not common in the southeastern sates.That s all.

Some asian M. religiosa subspecies may tolerate High humidity but not the one living in the USA.

I also believe some other introduced species(Tenodera,Iris) may challenge M. religiosa,explaining its limited occupation in some states.

I didn't no SoCal was considered "tropical" but nevertheless, try taking an ooth from there and hatching it without subjecting it to the cold. If you get a hatch, the nymphs will probably be weak and die off quickly.

M. religiosa can be found in the South of France where the climate is almost exactly the same you can find in the South of California.

You get mild winter,no problem for hatching them.

Here you can see the climate is roughly the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate

happy1892 said:

They do not need a cold period. I have read that the northern limit of B. borealis was Raleigh. How about Wake Forest, North Carolina? I could not find any here. The climate should be the same.

Edit: Oh yeah, they do live in Wake County.

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Yes they do which is why they likely do not occur here. The humidity is also very high here. If you notice they tend to be found in places with colder winters than we have here.

B. borealis is found in Wake County but more commonly near the coast. They take a lot of luck and technique to find. I know some places around here where they live but even then it takes hours to even find one.

We do not have T. graminis. NC has four species like I mentioned; T. angustipennis, T. sinensis, B. borealis, and S. carolina.

That's kind of weird. North Carolina has almost the same latitude as Portugal and here there are unlimited M. Religiosa everywhere.

Also I do live in and area where humidity is unusually high all year but this species still thrives here. However, Winters are rigorous and yes, they need a cold period.

I am in the NE and we do not have any here.

I was told that it was tropical. How about far south of California? Are you sure that they cannot live in humid climates? Are the ones in Portugal the same subspecies as in the US? Is NE Nabraska? Anybody raise these European Mantids without a diapause?

happy1892 said:

I was told that it was tropical. How about far south of California? Are you sure that they cannot live in humid climates? Are the ones in Portugal the same subspecies as in the US? Is NE Nabraska? Anybody raise these European Mantids without a diapause?

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NE is North East, dorry if that was ambiguous.

Okay. Anybody live in a humid climate with European Mantids?

Well Mexico is south of California and if I'm not mistaken, it's pretty dry until you keep going deep into the south. I remember an old thread about Europeans that didn't require diapause. But if I'm not mistaken they were from Africa and probably a different subspecies.

I don't believe that the reason is climate. Even though there are differences in tolerance between the subspecies, every one of them is still very plastic. For instance, in Russia we have the same subspecies (polonica) from 58 degrees north (in taiga zone, with winters as cold as -30 Celsius) to the southern border of the country (e.g., Black Sea, where there is no cold season at all). Absence in NC is probably because of the pressure from Tenodera species.