have you ever seen _____? unknown mantis appreciation thread

[thebookman10]

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!

 

[thebookman10]

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. 

 

[MantisMart]

That’s amazing!! 

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I have empusa pennata!

 

[thebookman10]

I have empusa pennata!

Do they look like Empusa fasciata?

 

[MrGhostMantis]

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

 

[FabioFabiatic]

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

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

 

[ElytraXD]

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

 

[nzxmUyZNKEBoqN3e]

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

 

[MantisMart]

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

 

[FabioFabiatic]

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

 

[ElytraXD]

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

They do look pretty cool as well 

 

[Mantid Z.]

Wow stunning 

 

[ghostparadoxa]

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) 

 

[thehelepolis]

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. 

 

[thehelepolis]

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.

 

[Nicolas]

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 

 

[Mystymantis]

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









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

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

 

[thebookman10]

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.

 

[SkittishMale]

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.