# ID a mantid found in china



## wuwu (Jul 12, 2006)

my friend was vacationing in china and she found a pretty big mantid on a tree. at first i thought it was probably a chinese mantid. however, she sent me the pics today and i'm sure it's not a chinese mantid. at first glance, it looked like a Sphodromantis sp. to me, but i think those only come from africa? unless someone introduced them to china. so i concluded it's probably a Hierodula sp.

what do you guys think?


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## robo mantis (Jul 12, 2006)

i think african or chinese


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## yen_saw (Jul 12, 2006)

nice looking mantis! Looks like a Hierodula sp. and not Sphodromantis sp. My guess is Hierodula Patellifera.


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## Rick (Jul 12, 2006)

> i think african or chinese


That is not a chinese mantis. Does look a bit like an african mantis though.


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## Ian (Jul 12, 2006)

Yes Yen, I agree, patellifera looks good, as you can just see a few small white spots on the raptorial forearms...typical of the patellifera. I think its a little larger than a Sphodromantis?


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## robo mantis (Jul 12, 2006)

i guessed chinese because it is in china lol


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## Christian (Jul 12, 2006)

Hi.

This is a _Hierodula_, but you can forget any attempt of species identification from the photos. There are 8 _Hierodula_ species occurring in China.

Regards,

Christian


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## Rick (Jul 12, 2006)

Shes got a pretty nasty wound on the thorax right behind the head.


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## FieroRumor (Jul 12, 2006)

Try dippin' its butt in a cup of water.... :shock:

(watch this vid!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sesYpFdGSTY

(about 4 and a half minutes into it...)


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## wuwu (Jul 12, 2006)

nasty


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## bruty2fruity (Jul 13, 2006)

that vid is messed up...what parasite is it?


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## Christian (Jul 13, 2006)

Hi.

This is a so-called Horsehair Worm (Nematomorpha), frequently found in wild-caught mantids. They have an aquatic and a terrestrial/parasitic form. The larva parasites mosquitoes. When those are captured by a mantid (or a katydid), it matures and lives in the insect for a while. In oder to reach water, they influence the mantid to jump into a pond (noone knows how they do it), where it leaves by the anus or between some segments. In water, the worm copulates and lays eggs. The mantid dies afterwards. But also distress can cause the worm to leave the mantis, even when there is no water. That's why they often leave shortly after one has captured a mantid. I saw one by myself in the Ivory Coast some years ago emerging from a _Sphodromantis_ male.

Regards,

Christian


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## bruty2fruity (Jul 13, 2006)

i know this sounds stupid. but does it kill the mantid easily?

also could a mantid still procreate with one of these things inside him?

also christian, its probable that they release a chemical to affect the mantis' brain pattern. several wasp grubs do this to their prey spiders/other wasps etc


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## Rick (Jul 13, 2006)

Is this parasite confined to that part of the world? Never come across anything like it in the US.


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## Christian (Jul 13, 2006)

@ bruity2fruity:

The mantids are often infested as larvae and usually become adult without problems. I do not remember if they are sterile, but I think so. The mantid lives relatively normal until the worm is to leave it.

@ Rick: there are about 300 species throughout the world, mostly in the tropics, but also in temperate regions. Not all species live in mantids. In southern Europe there is one species parasiting _M. religiosa_, in N-America grasshoppers are the most abundant hosts. Mantids are most affected in the paleotropics.

Regards,

Christian


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## Rick (Jul 13, 2006)

> @ bruity2fruity:The mantids are often infested as larvae and usually become adult without problems. I do not remember if they are sterile, but I think so. The mantid lives relatively normal until the worm is to leave it.
> 
> @ Rick: there are about 300 species throughout the world, mostly in the tropics, but also in temperate regions. Not all species live in mantids. In southern Europe there is one species parasiting _M. religiosa_, in N-America grasshoppers are the most abundant hosts. Mantids are most affected in the paleotropics.
> 
> ...


When I was younger back home in the midwest US I often found grasshoppers with worms in them.


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## wuwu (Jul 13, 2006)

i hope they can't infect humans. i'd hate to have that coming out of my . :roll:


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## Christian (Jul 13, 2006)

Well, there ARE other species (Nematoda) which really come out in dozens of ones ... :lol: 

Namely_ Ascaris lumbricoides_, but it's rather rare today.

Regards,

Christian


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## yen_saw (Jul 14, 2006)

That was gross, can't believe those people dare to play with it on the face afterwards, if one gets into the nostril i wonder what John mentioned could happen (coming out from human anus). I better stop catching wild grasshopper for my mantis.


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## Fisherman_Brazil (May 3, 2007)

This is very common here in Taiwan, often come to my office or class during my lecturing or tea break without notice. Last year I keep 5 female adult and two male adult, but still fail to breed due to the paracite problem. Would give it another try later this year.


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## colddigger (May 3, 2007)

So the horse hair worm gets in through mosquito larva? Well that's just great, that's exactly what I've been feeding my mantids when I couldn't get flies... are these worms common in the Washington state? :shock: Cause that would suck.


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## colddigger (May 3, 2007)

Or is it just mosquitos? If so then that would be a relief...


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## Fisherman_Brazil (May 4, 2007)

not quite sure if mosquito will do anything to the horsehair, but definitely all evidences point to the larva of dragonfly here in Taiwan.


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## AFK (May 4, 2007)

> @ bruity2fruity:The mantids are often infested as larvae and usually become adult without problems. I do not remember if they are sterile, but I think so. The mantid lives relatively normal until the worm is to leave it.
> 
> @ Rick: there are about 300 species throughout the world, mostly in the tropics, but also in temperate regions. Not all species live in mantids. In southern Europe there is one species parasiting _M. religiosa_, in N-America grasshoppers are the most abundant hosts. Mantids are most affected in the paleotropics.
> 
> ...


Christian, do you know how/why the host dies when the worm leaves into the water?


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## Christian (May 4, 2007)

Hi.

It usually drowns or is eaten by some fish. I am not sure how severe the injuries caused by the worm are, I suppose that the host will nevertheless die later, even if it manages to get out of the water.

Regards,

Christian


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## OGIGA (May 4, 2007)

Speaking of mantises dying, I never heard of a mantis that lived forever.


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## captainmerkin (May 5, 2007)

> Speaking of mantises dying, I never heard of a mantis that lived forever.


lots of the mantis from the zoo I work at are getting a little old, a few have passed on recently  

unfortunately the oldest freegate beetle (9year old) is also on its way out  

shame they don't live at least 2 years happily before dying.


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## AFK (May 5, 2007)

> Hi.It usually drowns or is eaten by some fish. I am not sure how severe the injuries caused by the worm are, I suppose that the host will nevertheless die later, even if it manages to get out of the water.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Christian


okay, so the worm doesn't actually kill the mantis when it leaves the body, but the mantis is nonetheless very vulnerable in the water to be eaten or drowned.


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## captainmerkin (May 5, 2007)

now I have had a chance at looking I'd say it is a Heridula of some sorts. has white spots on the wing case..

but a little different neck dressing I think


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