Orange winged Theopropus

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happy1892

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Hi. I have seen photos of orange winged "Theopropus elegans" online ()
(https://www.alamy.com/stock-image-f...opropus-elegans-praying-mantis-167521865.html),

but here the Theopropus elegans is said to have transparent or opaque hindwings:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...1Y79VCRZAvPKESAJVLbC796OjTPKHXiB9DZR_mXIP9ADw
Are the orange under-winged Theopropus elegans a variety or a different species? There is a variety, Theopropus elegans flavicans, which might have colored underwings because its name "flavicans" means yellowing. Theopropus rubrobruneus has orange hindwings: http://mantodea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/ShowImage.aspx?TaxonNameID=1182781&ImageID=178986

And the Theopropus rubrobrunneus is said to be from the Cameron Highlands:
http://mantodea.speciesfile.org/Common/specimen/ShowSpecimen.aspx?Router=NewPageVideo of T. rubrobrunneus or T. elegans?


The orange underwings are pretty.

Here is a redder underwinged Theopropus elegans, but that could just be the lighting when the photo was taken:
http://www.geocities.ws/Petsburgh/Zoo/6118/Startle.html
 
Last edited:
Don't they always have orange wings?
I don't think so. Now that I search on Google "Theopropus elegans", they are mostly orange winged. But you can see in this article pictures of different Theopropus species with clear hindwings: https://www.researchgate.net/figure...s-sinecus-B-E-T-xishiae-sp-nov_fig4_353419616

I am not sure how common the orange wings are in the wild. It said that Theopropus elegans have transparent or opaque hindwings:
Theopropus elegans is said to have transparent or opaque hindwings here, but it might be that there are strains of T. elegans with orange hindwings:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure...s-sinecus-B-E-T-xishiae-sp-nov_fig4_353419616
 

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