# have you ever seen _____? unknown mantis appreciation thread



## thehelepolis (Apr 26, 2020)

There are a ton of strange and cool mantises out there that are quite overlooked because they are not in the hobby. This thread is to give these unnoticed mantids the spotlight! Rules of the game are simple, post any mantis you think is neat but unknown. (Inaturalist is a good way to find them)

I’ll go first: have you ever seen panurgica? Believe it or not this dead leaf mimic is closest related to flower mantises like creobroter and spiny flower mantises, coming from the same tribe!


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## thehelepolis (May 3, 2020)

Have you ever seen blepharodes? This little guy closest related to the well known thistle mantis. Unlike the rest of the empusids, blepharodes seems to have went down a whole different evolutionary path, adapting to living on the harsh desert ground as opposed to dwelling in the leaves and trees like other empusids such as idolomantis or thistle mantis. Comparing blepharodes and blepharopsis, blepharodes stands more upright and is more stout like an eremiaphila while also retaining some blepharodes traits, like the wing pattern and head crest.


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## thehelepolis (May 12, 2020)

Have you ever seen the crescent moon mantids? Stagmatoptera is a South American genus of large green mantises. They are mostly your average mantis if not for the fact that many of them sport a twin pair of crescent moons on each wing!


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## MantisGirl13 (May 12, 2020)

That's a beautiful mantis!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Lady (May 13, 2020)

That last mantis is beautiful. I want 1


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## thehelepolis (May 14, 2020)

Have you ever see-oh who am I kidding, we’ve all seen the famous orchid mantis! You may be wondering, helepolis, why are you posting a famous species on an unknown mantis thread? Well, thing is, the orchid mantis we have in captivity is only a small faction of the beauty this species really has to offer. This species color mimicry is not only beautiful but more versatile than we could ever know, able to mimic any color between red and yellow. Without further waiting, I introduce our special guest of today, the amazing, the beautiful, ORCHID MANTIS!!!!



turns out, an orange orchid isn’t as unlikely as one may think!




This soft yellow looks even more like a flower than even a pink orchid!
  

this flower right here is a deep yellow with red highlights, but as we can see in the image below the amazing orchid is even able to mimic this flower!




You may have noticed that the lobes of the legs have a clear spot, well that’s actually the empty space of the outer shell as the lobes of this subadult male shrink to their adult size! As you can see by those wing buds he’s nearly ready for his adult molt, and separation of the new body and the outer shell is one of the steps of molting, taking place before the real molt.


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## BlobfishBoy (May 15, 2020)

For clarification, yellow orchid mantises (Parymenopus davisoni) is actually a different species from the usual orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus).


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## thehelepolis (May 15, 2020)

BlobfishBoy said:


> For clarification, yellow orchid mantises (Parymenopus davisoni) is actually a different species from the usual orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus).


actually believe it or not none of these are helvia cardinalis. every one of them is a hymenopus, the leg petals are not the right shape for helvia and only a hymenopus has the brown lines on its abdomen. this is actually the very reason I made this post, to clear up a myth and show that hymenopus comes in far more colors than the pink and white everyone thinks they are.


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## thehelepolis (May 15, 2020)

also forgot to add the detail about how hymenopus have those little eye knobs while helvia only has round smooth eyes


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## BlobfishBoy (May 15, 2020)

ah ok, thank you for the information


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## mantisfan101 (May 16, 2020)

Parymenopus was also changed to helvia so parmenopus davisoni is now helvia cardinalis


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## thehelepolis (Jun 2, 2020)

Get ready to meet the award winner for ugliest mantis! You may think that there’s no such thing as an ugly mantis but Photiomantis planicephala joins us here today to prove us wrong. I don’t know the behaviors of this mantis, but it’s safe to say that this is one mantis you wouldn’t want to be bitten by based on the fact that that huge head is likely hiding some equally huge jaw muscles. This mantis is native to the amazon of South America.


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## MantisGirl13 (Jun 2, 2020)

It's not ugly, its adorable!!

- MantisGirl13


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 2, 2020)

Yah its eyes are so big lol


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## thehelepolis (Jun 2, 2020)

MantisGirl13 said:


> It's not ugly, its adorable!!
> 
> - MantisGirl13


its kinda both for me, like a pug lol


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 2, 2020)

But why do u think its ugly


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## thehelepolis (Jun 2, 2020)

Mantis Man13 said:


> But why do u think its ugly


for me its the strange vertical eye shape combined with how its head is real big and rounded with that very small mouth. its especially noticeable in the threat display picture where it looks as if it is snarling at the one holding it. don't get me wrong, I still think its a real cool mantis and I would love to have one, but like I said, its ugly in an endearing way like a pug. however, based on all your replies, I may be the only one who thinks about the little photiomantis in this way. perhaps its not ugly at all, beauty really is in the eye of the bee holder


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 2, 2020)

Lol bee holder. Was that supposed to be a joke like an insect the bee


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## thehelepolis (Jun 2, 2020)

Mantis Man13 said:


> Lol bee holder. Was that supposed to be a joke like an insect the bee


yep


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 2, 2020)

Lol this mantis truly looks like an alien with those eyes


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## thehelepolis (Jun 4, 2020)

Have you ever seen the spiny armed mantis? Cardioptera is another South American genus of mantis from the amazon. They are close cousins of the famous South American macromantis, and looking at the difference between the shape of the males and females you can certainly see the resemblance!


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## thehelepolis (Jun 4, 2020)

just a question, but do you guys actually like this thread? I love sharing these mantises but I don't know if you all feel the same. I don't want to end up having been clogging up main chat with something people don't want because at that point its spam, so just let me know if you like this thread.


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 4, 2020)

Dude what are u talking about this thread is awesome! In learning so much about mantises I have never seen. And the have you seen this mantis game is so fun.


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## MrGhostMantis (Jun 5, 2020)

This thread is amazing! I find it very enjoyable!


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## Grapple_Apple (Jun 5, 2020)

But have you guys seen the elusive _Chinese mantis? _


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## MrGhostMantis (Jun 5, 2020)

Does that even exist?! I've _neeeeever _heard of that!


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 5, 2020)

Here is a picture of the Chinese mantis just for those who have not seen it on the forum and are beginners.


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 5, 2020)

Have you ever seen the lacewing mantis? This mantis is found is China and was found by Yen Saw once in Hong Kong!


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## MrGhostMantis (Jun 5, 2020)

Mantis Man13 said:


> Here is a picture of the Chinese mantis just for those who have not seen it on the forum and are beginners.
> 
> View attachment 13211


It was a joke mate


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 5, 2020)

Lol I know thats why I said heres a picture for beginners because beginners have not seen a chinese mantis.


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## Grapple_Apple (Jun 6, 2020)

Mantis Man13 said:


> Lol I know thats why I said heres a picture for beginners because beginners have not seen a chinese mantis.


No no, the joke is that Chinese mantis is probably the most common mantis around- everyone has probably seen it


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 6, 2020)

Dude I know. I’m just saying for people who have just joined the mantidforum and have not seen it. Have you ever thought of people joining the forum that don’t live where chinese mantises live? Just because it is common in asia, australia, and the united states doesn’t mean the rest of the world who joins this forum does know about it.


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## thehelepolis (Jun 8, 2020)

Have you ever seen the chrome eyed green mantis? Hicetia is yet another South American genus close to macromantis, but they look quite different. Hicetia is one of the few mantids known to display iridescence, even if it is only their eyes. Not only do they have beautiful eyes, they also have quite vibrant colors, a very deep green body with an occasional line of yellow or brown tuning down their back. To me these are some of the best looking of the mantises.


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## Mantis Man13 (Jun 8, 2020)

That brown and yellow stripe down the abdomen of that reminds me of the brunners stick mantis abdomen that has that same stripe.


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## FabioFabiatic (Jun 16, 2020)

Little Yucatán Mantis. It almost looks like a wasp mimic as an adult and is an ant mimic as a nymph.


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## thehelepolis (Jun 16, 2020)

wow that top one looks like its made of stone


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## MrGhostMantis (Jul 10, 2020)

Amazing!


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## MantisMart (Jul 12, 2020)

cool


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## thebookman10 (Aug 10, 2020)

Have you guys ever seen a Moss Mimic Mantis? Pogonogaster tristani, which is a species which has actually been studied and described by science twice!


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## thebookman10 (Aug 10, 2020)

And here is the other mantis in the Pogonogaster genus. I haven't found a common name for this mantis yet, so I am coining the term Columbian Lichen Mimic in order to differentiate it from the Lichen Mimic, which is a North American species. I have also only found 1 picture of this mantis, which is uploaded onto the web with varying degrees of cropping and quality. Here are all the images I found using my browser.




















The derpyness of the 3rd image is just so adorable!


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## thebookman10 (Aug 10, 2020)

And here is the last species for today. It has a lot more information available on it than the Pogonogaster sp. and it is on my wanted list (I would pay crazy money for it but unfortunately it is not in culture) however the only mantis close to it is the Empusa pennata. I present to you all, Empusa fasciata. It  looks exactly the same as Empusa pennata, but it has a very beautiful pink colouration on parts of its body.


























Those last two are still Fasciata, however they are like green ghosts.


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## MantisMart (Aug 10, 2020)

That’s amazing!!


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## MrGhostMantis (Aug 10, 2020)

I have empusa pennata!


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## thebookman10 (Aug 10, 2020)

MrGhostMantis said:


> I have empusa pennata!


Do they look like Empusa fasciata?


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## MrGhostMantis (Aug 10, 2020)

Not yet, they are L2. They have a bit of purple though!


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## FabioFabiatic (Aug 11, 2020)

MrGhostMantis said:


> Not yet, they are L2. They have a bit of pur﻿ple though!


Yours are purple, mine are just different shades of brown.


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## ElytraXD (Aug 12, 2020)

Have you ever seen oxyelaea? An incredible lichen mimic mantis. (Not my photo)


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## nzxmUyZNKEBoqN3e (Aug 12, 2020)

That's amazing! I'm always in awe of mantids camouflage.


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## MantisMart (Aug 12, 2020)

just 6 months ago I thought all praying mantids were just normal green ones. I was VERY wrong haha.


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## FabioFabiatic (Aug 12, 2020)

Omg I love it. I wonder what the males look like!!


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## ElytraXD (Aug 12, 2020)

FabioFabiatic said:


> Omg I love it. I wonder what the males look like!!


They do look pretty cool as well


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## Mantid Z. (Aug 14, 2020)

Wow stunning


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## ghostparadoxa (Aug 15, 2020)

I love this thread! I'm fond of the European dwarf mantis (Ameles spallanzania), especially the females, purely because of how short and stubby they are. (photos from iNaturalist)


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## thehelepolis (Aug 15, 2020)

Have you ever heard of chopardempusa neglecta? Native to Madagascar, This member of the empusids is a giant, able to rival diabolica in size. This species is seldom seen, with only 4 images able to be found. Although blurry, you can see the deep blue color on its inner arms. This species lacks any form of common name, despite its extraordinary size and looks. 
 

this is why I would like you all to help me give this species the name it deserves.


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## thehelepolis (Aug 15, 2020)

i have come up with 2 possible common names for this species. 

first off, the cello mantis. this one is sort of self explanatory, as this mantis looks like a larger version of the violin mantis

second, the fiddle mantis. this one is because this mantis looks like a hybrid of idolomantis and violin mantises. what comes to mind when your thinking about devils and violins? the devil and his golden fiddle, of course.

if you all have any better ideas, leave a suggestion below.


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## Nicolas (Aug 16, 2020)

Haha Cello Mantis would be funny.

A question I have is, unlike the ghost mantids, what exactly determines a Sphodromantis' color? Do they have eating preferences? They are usually brown or green, right? Also, these grow in size similar to Heirodula species so I was wondering what is much different from them aside from where they come from. And there are a lot of Sphodro's so I was curious if any of them have any distinct behaviors from each other. They all seem to be referred to as "Giant African Mantis" and generally look identical to each other. Also was wondering if they are cool to handle at adult ages.

I think this pic is a Lineola


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## Mystymantis (Aug 28, 2020)

thebookman10 said:


> And here is the last species for today. It has a lot more information available on it than the Pogonogaster sp. and it is on my wanted list (I would pay crazy money for it but unfortunately it is not in culture) however the only mantis close to it is the Empusa pennata. I present to you all, Empusa fasciata. It  looks exactly the same as Empusa pennata, but it has a very beautiful pink colouration on parts of its body.
> 
> http://exo-factory.pl/1047-tm_thickbox_default/empusa-fasciata.jpg
> 
> ...


Oh my goodness a mantis in purple!!!! My favorite color! That is amazing! Want want want! Though probably will never get ahahah.


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## thebookman10 (Aug 28, 2020)

Mystymantis said:


> Oh my goodness a mantis in purple!!!! My favorite color! That is amazing! Want want want! Though probably will never get ahahah.


Depends on where you are. If you mind paying 12 pounds for a L3/L4 some guy on ebay is selling them in the UK.


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## SkittishMale (Oct 29, 2020)

The Narrow-winged Mantis

As most beginners and experts alike know about the Chinese Mantis _(Tenodera sinensis)_, other species within the genus seem to go unnoticed. Especially because how similar they are to each other. In the eastern United States, two species of _Tenodera _are naturalized there. The familiar _T. sinensis_ and the Narrow-winged Mantis _(T. angustipennis)_. This species is native to Japan and other parts of Asia.

When not side-by-side with _T. sinensis_, this species can be hard to distinguish at first although there are some sure ways to identify it. In between it's raptorial forelegs, there's a distinctive orange spot. On _T. sinensis_, this spot is yellow. The ootheca is also quite distinct. It is much more elongate and has two chestnut-brown stripes that run parallel with the length. In the United States, the ootheca of this species is more often confused with that of the native _Stagmomantis carolina_ ootheca because both are elongate.

Finally, when _T. angustipennis_ and _T. sinensis_ are side-by-side, you can see that _T. angustipennis_ has a narrower, thinner build, hence the name. There' also a difference in wing patterning too. 

I can imagine that the care for this species is identical to _T. sinensis_. Both photos I shared are not mine. I found them on Bugguide.


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## Mantis Man13 (Nov 6, 2020)

Have you ever seen the iridescent bark mantis? It is native to southeast asia and is very rare! It looks like the colors of a rainbow! 

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/カマキリ#/media/ファイル:Metalliticussplendidus.JPG

Can you guys tell me what you think of it? I would like to know!


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## Arthroverts (Nov 11, 2020)

Ay, _Metallyticus splendidus_ is a fantastic species that, surprising or no, seems rather easy to keep, fairly communal, and prolific. I'd like to see someone breed _M. violaceus_ long-term as well and get some side-by-side shots with _splendidus_ for comparison.

Thanks,

Arthroverts


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