# Mantoida maya



## aNisip (Jul 8, 2014)

A rare species of mantis I found while cataloging different species of ant down in Coconut Creek, FL this past Sunday. The "Little Yucatan Mantis" is its common name, but the more preferred _Mantoida maya_ is what I refer to it as. It is considered an ant mimicking species like a few other mantid species. However, this ant-mimic trait usually only lasts for its immature instar stages. It mimics the ant species _Pseudomyrmex gracilis_ (Elongate Twig Ant), not only by appearing similar on the morphological basis, but also referring towards its behavior (in terms of moving like the ant does, and responding to stimuli in similar manners). I wanted to get a somewhat good shot with what little sunlight I had left, so I just picked out this specimen (_P. gracilis_) out my preserving specimen container, so you can sort of see the morphological resemblance, but it is most noticeable in a living specimen with the dried out, erect setae and more grey-ish appearance. This is a nearly mature mantid and the resemblence is a little tough to see, but its there, I promise




. (Warning: Enjoy the ginormous pictures. ) (Warning #2: Sorry for some of the bad ant pics and mantid ones, I was in a race with the ever fading sunlight.


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## Bug Trader (Jul 8, 2014)

Nice find.


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## Dracus (Jul 8, 2014)

Great find! And the greatness comes from the fact that it is NOT _Mantoida maya_, but a nymph of some _Acontista_ species. To my knowledge, no _Acontista_ has been reported from Florida till now, at least in literature.

Also, thanks for the pictures of the model ant species. I always thought that the ant mimicry in _Acontista_ is rather general, but now I clearly see how specific it is.

This is _Mantoida maya_ nymph, for comparison:


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## aNisip (Jul 8, 2014)

Dracus, how can you tell? I mean the only really tell-tale sign is the stripes in its eyes. The specimen I found doesn't have them, although maybe they appear in its older instars? I know it is not the best option, but when you Google Image Mantoida maya, many pictures like this











show up. But only one other that look like the image you provided...



and of course yours...





now in both "Mantoida maya" photos, both specimens are sub adult (by the wingbuds) ...but in the other suppossed "Acontista sp" they are a younger instar. Could it be that Mantoida maya just mimics an ant in its younger instar, then has a drastic change in its morphological makeup at its older instars?

Cheers Dracus, and thank you for the alternative ID!

All the best,

Andrew


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## Dracus (Jul 8, 2014)

_Acontista _and _Mantoida _are very distant genera, the latter being in fact one of the most primitive extant mantises. The most apparent visual difference between their nymphs, as well as adults, that can be seen on any picture, is the shape of their pronotums. _Mantoida _have a very short pronotum, much shorter than the fore coxae, with the metazone only a little longer than the prozone. Nymphs of _Acontista_, on the other hand, have quite long pronotum, with a constriction in the metazone, and the metazone is as long as the fore coxae. The shape of nymphal pronotum in both genera is very similar to adults. Also, when in rest, even the first instar of _Acontista _often holds forelegs in a very characteristic for Acanthopidae (but not for Mantoididae) position, with the forefemora set slightly behing the fore coxae, as on the second and third picture of _Acontista _nymphs you provided in the second post. Other characters are related to the spination of fore femora which is difficult to see on photos, but anyway the differences are very easy to spot once you saw both adults and nymphs in collections or in nature. So, the mantis in the first post is definitely _Acontista _  

If you spot the adult, you may want to collect it. It would be quite interesting to know what species of _Acontista _it is. There are at least 4 in Mexico and 1 on Cuba.


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## aNisip (Jul 8, 2014)

Yes, this individual often holds its forelegs in characteristic Acanthopidae position, much like a Mantisfly.

I am doing my best to raise him (I got a better, closer look at his abdomen, to count 8 segments) and so far is doing great. He currently is eating fruit flies and springtails. So hopefully he will make it to adult and be a better subject to compare to those other species to see what I found. Also, I plan on going back to the same area to see if I can spot anymore.

Thank you greatly for the help Dracus.

Cheers,

Andrew


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## sally (Jul 9, 2014)

I can't wait to see the adult, Andrew! Great find


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## brancsikia (Jul 11, 2014)

Very interesting!

Native?

Or introduced (by some breeder... that would not be the best news)?

Cheers


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## mantiseater (Jul 12, 2014)

If they have been found before they've probably been misidentified as mantioda maya


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## happy1892 (Jul 12, 2014)

Could the Callimantis floridana be this mantis or not?


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## aNisip (Jul 16, 2014)

brancsikia said:


> Very interesting!
> 
> Native?
> 
> ...


The most likely source of origin is from a shipment of plants that had an ooth of this species on it. |However im still holding out for a new species  



mantiseater said:


> If they have been found before they've probably been misidentified as mantioda maya


Yes this is very likely, as you can tell, that's what I thought it was at first



happy1892 said:


> Could the Callimantis floridana be this mantis or not?


Likely not, as it perfectly matches the description of the genus Acontista.

Update: The Acontista sp successfully molted two days ago  Enjoying flying D mels and D hydei. Looks like 3 more molts till adult... I will try and get some pictures either today or tomorrow, it has significantly lost its Pseudomyrmex gracilis appearance (mimic) and has taken a rather predominantly orange color.


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## aNisip (Jul 23, 2014)

Here is what he looks like from the molt I mentioned above, but it was awhile before I was able to put this up and he actually molted again yesterday...so I have to get a new one of him again  

I captioned this one as "What's out there?"


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## Rick (Jul 23, 2014)

Have you spoken to anyone about the occurrence of Acontista spp. in FL?


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## aNisip (Jul 23, 2014)

Rick said:


> Have you spoken to anyone about the occurrence of Acontista spp. in FL?


Not exactly...but in terms of them being non-indigenous to Florida (or at least that is what was thought in the past) it is most likely that a shipment of plants is likely the culprit of this species origin in FL. But lets not count the ducks before they hatch i guess. I have spoken with a biologist in Brazil and he says there are many sp of _Acontista_ and that it is best to get it to adult before trying to make any species identification (someone commented on one of them in the FB group about it being_ Acontista concinna_, but I would rather wait for him/her to reach adult before encouraging any premature IDs)...but he said i would likely need an adult pair of the species to make it a valid find...so i guess im going to go look for some more soon.... I hope. (I hope this somewhat answers your question Rick)

*EDIT: Click the SPOILER button to reveal the images. *

However some good news yesterday as he/she molted again (likely two more to reach adult) and it looks like a she....







Spoiler


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## kunturman (Jul 23, 2014)

mantiseater said:


> If they have been found before they've probably been misidentified as mantioda maya


Andrew,

Manstiseater's hypothesis has been bugging me since you showed me that Maya-look a like specimen.

Suppose that among the state collection of mantids in Gainesville, there is one Acontista among the _Mantoida maya __specimens._

_It happens all the time, even with mammal collections. That would be even more fun_


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## aNisip (Jul 23, 2014)

Yes. I wouldn't doubt that at all...I would love to check out the Gainesville collection...


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## mantiseater (Jul 23, 2014)

AndrewNisip said:


> Yes. I wouldn't doubt that at all...I would love to check out the Gainesville collection...


last month I went to entomology camp and one of the camp counselors works at the department of agriculture so he brought my dad and I in through the back door on the last day of camp to show me the mantis specimens. It was amazing, two whole rows filled with mantids. and guess what they had? Male brunners mantises from all over south america! They also had a shadow box filled with choeradodis, which was the only box I got a picture of, and a box filled with mantoida maya. The head curator said when I come next year he'll let me identify and re-pin their mantis collections!!!


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## Rick (Jul 24, 2014)

mantiseater said:


> last month I went to entomology camp and one of the camp counselors works at the department of agriculture so he brought my dad and I in through the back door on the last day of camp to show me the mantis specimens. It was amazing, two whole rows filled with mantids. and guess what they had? Male brunners mantises from all over south america! They also had a shadow box filled with choeradodis, which was the only box I got a picture of, and a box filled with mantoida maya. The head curator said when I come next year he'll let me identify and re-pin their mantis collections!!!


Male B. borealis? This is the first I have ever heard of that.

Andrew, my question was more along the line of thought that perhaps some people may be interested in knowing about the find as it could be a new record. Of course as you mentioned you want a positive ID.


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## mantiseater (Jul 24, 2014)

Rick said:


> Male B. borealis? This is the first I have ever heard of that.
> 
> Andrew, my question was more along the line of thought that perhaps some people may be interested in knowing about the find as it could be a new record. Of course as you mentioned you want a positive ID.


not b. borealis just someother species of brunneria


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## Rick (Jul 24, 2014)

mantiseater said:


> not b. borealis just someother species of brunneria


Ahh okay, that makes more sense then. That is the problem with using common names.


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## aNisip (Jul 24, 2014)

Rick said:


> Andrew, my question was more along the line of thought that perhaps some people may be interested in knowing about the find as it could be a new record. Of course as you mentioned you want a positive ID.


Yeah, I would assume someone in FL would like to know/should be interested in this find, but not exactly who to contact to make aware of this unique find; any ideas?


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## mantiseater (Jul 24, 2014)

AndrewNisip said:


> Yeah, I would assume someone in FL would like to know/should be interested in this find, but not exactly who to contact to make aware of this unique find; any ideas?


Email gavin J svenson from project mantodea. his email is:[email protected]


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## Rick (Jul 25, 2014)

I don't think Svenson is in FL but he may know somebody or still be interested. He does a lot of great work with mantids. I would probably also find and contact an entomology professor at one of the large universities as they likely also know who in state government you could contact.


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## mantiseater (Jul 25, 2014)

Rick said:


> I don't think Svenson is in FL but he may know somebody or still be interested. He does a lot of great work with mantids. I would probably also find and contact an entomology professor at one of the large universities as they likely also know who in state government you could contact.


when I ask who could help me identify my costa rica mantises at the university of FL they told me to contact Svenson


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## aNisip (Jul 25, 2014)

mantiseater said:


> Email gavin J svenson from project mantodea. his email is:[email protected]





Rick said:


> I don't think Svenson is in FL but he may know somebody or still be interested. He does a lot of great work with mantids. I would probably also find and contact an entomology professor at one of the large universities as they likely also know who in state government you could contact.





mantiseater said:


> when I ask who could help me identify my costa rica mantises at the university of FL they told me to contact Svenson


I will contact UF (University of Florida) ento dept to see who could help me out and ask abt Svenson.

mantiseater, do you remember who you contacted at UF? (I have talked with one of the profs there before, so it may be that same person)

Thanks


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## mantiseater (Jul 25, 2014)

AndrewNisip said:


> I will contact UF (University of Florida) ento dept to see who could help me out and ask abt Svenson.
> 
> mantiseater, do you remember who you contacted at UF? (I have talked with one of the profs there before, so it may be that same person)
> 
> Thanks


I asked Lyle Buss the insect ID lab manager


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## mantiseater (Aug 9, 2014)

how is it doing?


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## Krissim Klaw (Aug 9, 2014)

Ahh, so cute. It makes me wonder what the one tiny mantis I saw as a child in FL was. I've never seen anything like it in photos so I have no idea what it might have been other than ridiculously small and unusual looking.


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## mantiseater (Aug 23, 2014)

how is it doing


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## aNisip (Aug 27, 2014)

EDIT: I JUST REALIZED I ALREADY POSTED THOSE IMAGES...WHOOPS (that just means I'll have to get more photos  )

Sorry for the belated update. Started a new semester a few days ago and only recently got my laptop back from the repair shop. She is doing great! Today before I left for classes, she had a fresh new body as a sub-adult (I only knew this bc her old exuviae was at the top and it took me awhile to actually find her (her camo is still pretty awesome, despite her loosing all of her ant-mimicry.)) these images are of her 3 instars ago and she only mimics an ant in her actions; no longer relying on her beauty.












A very unique shot. The pseudopupil seems to be lacking by the spectacular refletion placement of the sun  Therefore, _Ghost Acontista sp _

_



_

_Cheers ,_

_Andrew _


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## mantiseater (Aug 29, 2014)

im glad its doing well


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## kunturman (Aug 30, 2014)

Acontista or Atsitnoca  ?

Found in the same area were Andrew found his.

She is on my thumb.


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## kunturman (Aug 30, 2014)

More pics above.


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## happy1892 (Aug 30, 2014)

Nice amamantodea! You got an adult female. It is likely that she is mated from the wild. I hope they are parthenogenetic. I do not know of a genus Atsitnoca. Are you doing a joke?


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## Rick (Aug 30, 2014)

Did you ever find out exactly what you have there Andrew?

What is this species amamantodea? 

If you guys come across any G. grisea I'll pay good money for one for Bugfest.


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## mantiseater (Aug 30, 2014)

wow! where exactly did you guys find them? I might be going on a birthday trip in two months to FL and I would love to find one


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## kunturman (Aug 30, 2014)

Happy1892,

Yes, is sarcasm in a funny way, and lets hope she is gravid.

Rick, I am guessing is some kind of Ancotista sp, most probable the same specie Andrew found.

I will keep my eyes open for G grisea. What is your dead line for the expo.


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## aNisip (Sep 4, 2014)

Rick said:


> Did you ever find out exactly what you have there Andrew?
> 
> If you guys come across any G. grisea I'll pay good money for one for Bugfest.


Not yet Rick, going to wait to try and collect more individuals, and then will have to send off the individuals as preserved adults to be properly identified.....but amamantodea's new find is certainly positive (hopefully it is the same species, it would make things a whole lot easier!  )

I'll also keep looking Rick


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## happy1892 (Sep 4, 2014)

AndrewNisip said:


> (hopefully it is the same species, it would make things a whole lot easier!  )


But.. it won't be as interesting if they were the same species eh? ^_^


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## Rick (Sep 4, 2014)

AndrewNisip said:


> Not yet Rick, going to wait to try and collect more individuals, and then will have to send off the individuals as preserved adults to be properly identified.....but amamantodea's new find is certainly positive (hopefully it is the same species, it would make things a whole lot easier!  )
> 
> I'll also keep looking Rick


Awesome. Please keep us updated. It is likely a new record.

amamantodea, show is the 20th so I would need them before the 19th.


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## kunturman (Sep 4, 2014)

Yesterday morning I found the Ancotista dead, RIP.

Probably she was at the end of her life cycle.

Well she is in the freezer for a future taxonomic ID.

Will keep looking for more.

Rick, I am looking for Gonatista g, and if I find them I will let you know asap.


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## Rick (Sep 4, 2014)

amamantodea said:


> Yesterday morning I found the Ancotista dead, RIP.
> 
> Probably she was at the end of her life cycle.
> 
> ...


That's too bad. Sorry to hear she died.

Sounds good, thanks.


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## happy1892 (Sep 4, 2014)

amamantodea said:


> Yesterday morning I found the Ancotista dead, RIP.
> 
> Probably she was at the end of her life cycle.
> 
> Well she is in the freezer for a future taxonomic ID.


Did she eat well when you had her?


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## mantiseater (Sep 11, 2014)

How is it Andrew?


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## kunturman (Sep 12, 2014)

happy1892 said:


> Did she eat well when you had her?


Yes, she actually had a good petite for soldier-flies, which were as long as she was, but a dislike for crickets.


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## mantiseater (Oct 10, 2014)

ill be down there tomorrow!


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## happy1892 (Oct 11, 2014)

amamantodea said:


> Yes, she actually had a good petite for soldier-flies, which were as long as she was, but a dislike for crickets.


Did the crickets bite her?


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## aNisip (Nov 12, 2014)

Hello all,

Just a quick update- the original Acontista sp female is doing just fine, she is adult and laid her first (hopefully parthenogenic) ooth on 10/20/14.



Spoiler


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## aNisip (Nov 12, 2014)

Spoiler


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## mantiseater (Nov 13, 2014)

nice!


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## aNisip (Nov 16, 2014)

Exciting Update! :clown: Just came home from a concert and I saw a handful of baby nymphs! I checked her before the concert and everything was normal, so they must be one of those uncommon species that hatches at night. :batman: 

The parthenogenic ability of Aconstista has undoubtedly proven to be successful  The ooth was laid on the 20th of Ocotber, so gestation period is a little under a month. Anybody able to send me some wingless D melanos relatively quickly? (ill make an ad too)


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## aNisip (Mar 10, 2015)

Update: Two preserved adult Acontista sp females are currently being ID'd by Dr. Gavin Svenson. None of the nymphs that hatched parthenogenetically, made it  ...nonetheless, still a unique find, but I believe they are a known species (just not documented in FL before) probably from a South/Cetral American country that happened to be stow-aways...

btw, could an admin change the title of this thread to "Acontista sp found in FL" please (and thank you) ?


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