Borneo mantids

[ellroy]

Hi,

I have returned from my travels in Borneo where I saw loads of cool bugs but not as many mantids as I hoped. Also, they are a lot harder to photograph in the field so you'll have to excuse the quality!

Haven't had a chance to id any yet so thoughts would be appreciated.....

I also found one of those cool mantis flies which I have bought back (deceased) to photograph.....it's very small though I'll need to borrow my mates camera,

Cheers

Alan

 

[Ian]

Grea photos Alan. The first one looks like a Stagmomantis species maybe? Couldn't really hazard a guess on the others?

Glad you had a good time anyway...would have thought Borneo would be teaming with them!

 

[yen_saw]

Glad to know you're back!

Tough to guess. Christian would be the one to ask. My guess is

Pic #1 - Euchomenella sp - male

Pic #2 - Acromantis sp - female

Pic#3 - Hierodula sp - female

Pic#4 - Hierodula sp - ?!?!,

Pic #5 - Tenodera sp - male

 

[Christian]

Wow, nice. Did you bring home anything living?

Now,

1: Euchomenella matilei or heteroptera. We have the same species in stock right now. What's the exact size of the male?

2: Psychomantis borneensis: this is a good one! I hope it's still living. It's related to Acromantis.

3, 4, and 5: seems to be the same species of Hierodula, similar to the one we found and have in stock, presumably H. tenuis.

That's not a bad sample. It's not easy to find mantids in rainforest regions if you do not stay for longer periods.

Regards,

Christian

 

[ellroy]

Thanks for the info, unfortunately I was not able to bring anything back so the photos are my only reference.

I couldn't say accurately how big the Euchomenella sp. was as I was unable to capture it but would guess around 4-5 inches....sorry it's vague!

It was definitely difficult tracking them down, I did go out at night hoping to spot more but only saw spiders. Most of the mantids I photographed found me! They turned up in or around our lodgings.....probably attracted to the insects which were attracted to the lights.

I hope to return to Borneo in the future for a more intensive bug hunt!

Alan