# USA Mystery Mantis



## Peter Clausen (Sep 2, 2009)

I collected this in the Algodones Dunes in SE California in July of 2009. I sent photos to Dr. Gavin J. Svenson and he suggested it is in the genus _Pseudoyersinia_ Kirby, 1904. It's rather exciting to collect a genus of mantis in the US that I'd never heard of! Does anybody out there have any information about this genus and whether it is known to occur in the SW USA? Any idea what species it may be within this genus (ones that may occur in that region)? I imagine it could be recently introduced or have migrated up from Mexico, but I've not looked into it myself yet. The mantis is a male and currently still alive in my collection.


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 2, 2009)

Peter said:


> I collected this in the Algodones Dunes in SE California in July of 2009. I sent photos to Dr. Gavin J. Svenson and he suggested it is in the genus _Pseudoyersinia_ Kirby, 1904. It's rather exciting to collect a genus of mantis in the US that I'd never heard of! Does anybody out there have any information about this genus and whether it is known to occur in the SW USA? Any idea what species it may be within this genus (ones that may occur in that region)? I imagine it could be recently introduced or have migrated up from Mexico, but I've not looked into it myself yet. The mantis is a male and currently still alive in my collection.


If it is in the genus Pseudoyersinia, it really is a mystery, since all of its species are from places like Morocco, Algeria, the Canary Islands, Italy, etc with narry a one (not surprisingly) from the US. See this list from Texas A&amp;M: http://insects.tamu.edu/research/collectio...ly/Mantidae.txt

BUT, Algodones is right at the border, and every third person you meet is an undocumented alien. By no means all of the border crossers are Mexican, or even South American, so it is possible that this mantis came over from Europe or N. Africa. Please notify your local CBP or ICE office.


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## agent A (Sep 2, 2009)

cool mantis!


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## Peter Clausen (Sep 2, 2009)

Dr. Svenson is "checking the collections" tomorrow. I've asked him some follow up questions and will post any updates! (I invited him to reply here directly  )

One of his sites: http://www.mantodearesearch.com/PI.html

Phil, I collected it in the very same location that you and I collected scorpions the previous night!


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## Katnapper (Sep 2, 2009)




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## revmdn (Sep 2, 2009)

Neat-o.


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## hibiscusmile (Sep 2, 2009)

that is so cute, and so is kats new smilie!


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## cloud jaguar (Sep 3, 2009)

Wow, Peter, that is pretty cool! How exciting to have found this mantis. The pic is not loading for me for some reason - ill try looking later.


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## Ntsees (Sep 3, 2009)

Peter said:


> I collected this in the Algodones Dunes in SE California in July of 2009. I sent photos to Dr. Gavin J. Svenson and he suggested it is in the genus _Pseudoyersinia_ Kirby, 1904. It's rather exciting to collect a genus of mantis in the US that I'd never heard of! Does anybody out there have any information about this genus and whether it is known to occur in the SW USA? Any idea what species it may be within this genus (ones that may occur in that region)? I imagine it could be recently introduced or have migrated up from Mexico, but I've not looked into it myself yet. The mantis is a male and currently still alive in my collection.


Wow, nice catch. Although I've never seen one, your picture reminded me of a mantid species that I saw in books when I wanted to learn about mantids of North America. That mantid reminds me of _Litaneutria minor _or Minor ground mantid.


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 3, 2009)

Peter said:


> Dr. Gavin is "checking the collections" tomorrow. I've asked him some follow up questions and will post any updates! (I invited him to reply here directly  )One of his sites: http://www.mantodearesearch.com/PI.html
> 
> Phil, I collected it in the very same location that you and I collected scorpions the previous night!


Ouch! Obviously the Great Mantis Goddess (BbHN) was too busy keeping an eye on Roxanne to have any time for me! You might be onto something good here. Aside from the AZ capricorn mantis over in the SE, this is mainly Stagmomantis country, and that it obviously isn't. I would have guessed Litaneutria minor, too, but aren't you already familiar with that species? The head-on view, though looks remarkably like that at http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/orthopt/Litaneutria.htm

What do you think?


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## Peter Clausen (Sep 3, 2009)

Nice work, Phil! After viewing the photographs at that link I am certain you are correct and certainly disappointed in the "minor" status of this minor, _minor_ mantis. I've never encountered the immatures before and got a _little_ excited when Dr. Gavin made his suggestion today ;-)

I suppose I better send a letter off to Dr. Gavin, so he doesn't waste his time scouring through the collections in the morning!

Adults are so much darker and drab (and have wings)  Now, a bit of research on my own now shows that Yersiniops and Litaneutria share the subfamily Amelinae in the US. I had very much thought this close to Yersiniops, but was sure it was neither of our two natives.

Bummer, but it sure does make sense, doesn't it?

Thanks Phil!

...heyyy Riiick...still need a _Litaneutria minor_ for Bugfest? ^_^


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## Rick (Sep 3, 2009)

Peter said:


> Nice work, Phil! After viewing the photographs at that link I am certain you are correct and certainly disappointed in the "minor" status of this minor, _minor_ mantis. I've never encountered the immatures before and got a _little_ excited when Dr. Gavin made his suggestion today ;-)I suppose I better send a letter off to Dr. Gavin, so he doesn't waste his time scouring through the collections in the morning!
> 
> Adults are so much darker and drab (and have wings)  Now, a bit of research on my own now shows that Yersiniops and Litaneutria share the subfamily Amelinae in the US. I had very much thought this close to Yersiniops, but was sure it was neither of our two natives.
> 
> ...


We do. Think we had one last year if I am not mistaken. It would make a nice addition and with that addition this could be the best collection I have had for BF.


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## cloud jaguar (Sep 3, 2009)

Peter, is this mantid found running on the ground or on shrubs? Is it a fast mantis? What is the best way to look for one?


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## Christian (Sep 3, 2009)

_Pseudoyersinia_ not only is a Palearctic genus which does not occur in the US, it also looks different.

_Litaneutria_ looks plausible on a first glimpse (by the way, Peter, if you want some species to be ID, you should not write over the important parts...  ); it seems to be not adult yet. There are more species described in this genus than _minor_, so I wouldn't give it a specific name yet. Most should be synonyms of _minor_, but there still is a good chance that the one or other is valid. It would be interesting to see if it becomes fully winged.


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## Peter Clausen (Sep 4, 2009)

Hi Christian,

Thanks for replying. I thought to send the photos to you, but a strange coincidence in factors led me to a US resource in Dr. Svenson. Seemed like a good opportunity to possibly reign in another mind from the world of science (had hoped he might join our community, but this remains to be seen).

Naturally, I "watermarked" the images in case they were something especially unique. I won't write a long history here about my experiences with photos being "borrowed".

Do you happen to know if any of the supposed _Litaneutria_ males are apterous? Not that I have any basis for doing so, but I would have guessed they were all winged and females with only vestigial wings??? From a recent lecture I attended on tarantulas vs. DNA analysis, I know that many taxonomic groups will shrink while others will grow. And the arguments will still continue about what factors best constitute determination of species (dna vs. morphology vs. geography vs. behavior).

The mantis has molted one time since those photos were taken. No wings yet!

I'm embarrassed to say it now, but this is actually a very common species in Arizona. I had just never seen a nymph and as with so many other mantises, the nymphs look very different from adults. I will likely send the specimen to Rick if we get around to working out arrangements!


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## Peter Clausen (Sep 4, 2009)

Arkanis,

They are called ground mantises and for good reason. They are usually only noticed on the ground. They blend in well on dirt, sand or rock. I've obtained them in sweep nets through vegetation under a foot in height (young mesquite trees, I think they were). I've also collected adult males (only) at lights at rest stops (public bathrooms) and even to my blacklight set up.


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## Christian (Sep 4, 2009)

@ Peter: well, the potential chance of aptery is the part that would interest me. I first thought it to be apterous, and the only related apterous genus which occurs there is_ Yersiniops_. Still, the photos posted by Yen clearly show differences to your's (he also sent me a specimen, but it was completely destroyed during transport  ; nevertheless, thanks again!  ), so it can't be _Yersiniops_. There is still some possibility that it is _Yersinia_, but after what I have seen those are more robust.

_Litaneutria_ fits best so far, but I don't have all original descriptions (yet). It would be best to judge the specimen after it is adult.


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## Rick (Sep 4, 2009)

Just let me know Peter. The event is next weekend. A lot of the stuff is coming in this week from other members.


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 5, 2009)

I expect that Christian will have better access to a type description than I (i.e. I couldn't access it at all  ) but all current descriptions and pix indicate that males are alate with no mention of aptery, and since you have observed that they come to lights, it seems most likely that they are volant as well. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and my double sawbuck says that this nymph will become a winged adult male.


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## Peter Clausen (Sep 5, 2009)

I have collected adults of both _Yersiniops _and _Litaneutria _from near parts of Arizona in the past. On the following pages, please ignore any information you see there since it is both wrong and about ten years old  . Back in those day I spent hours taking photos and posting them and little time researching (nowadays it it very little of both  ). Somehow, I didn't even mention _L. minor_ as a species.

http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/litaneutria.html

http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/yersiniops.html (misspellings on this page)

The wings will appear soon, though I'll be sending it off to Rick. Wing buds are evident now. Perhaps Rick will send you the specimen, Christian, once it has died, though I imagine Bugfest may want to retain it for future presentations. Between myself and a few friends I have down that way, I will surely (eventually) be able to send you some dried specimens. I do plan to spend a lot of time in Arizona, someday...


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## Christian (Sep 5, 2009)

That would be fine, thanks. I expected the specimen to become winged one day, I was just curious about the possibility that it is different from _minor_. There is some uncertainty in the number of species in this genus.


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