Kris Anderson
Well-known member
Tenodera sinensis species treatment completed. This particular species, due to its interesting large size and commercial availability, has been the subject of much reproductive and ethological experimentation over the past few decades. The cumulative results of this massive amount of data has now been collated, making possible one of the most complete treatments of any species of Mantodea found in our region, albeit introduced. Although the taxonomic status of this species has been solidified over 100 years ago, many variations of its binomial still remain throughout modern literature.
T. sinensis has been sold commercially and privately as a biological control agent for many decades throughout the United States, despite its generalist diet that includes many helpful pollinators, such as honey bees and butterflies, as well as conspecifics and native mantis species. Because of this human-aided dispersal, the seasonal presence of individuals in various parts of the country creates unique challenges to determine the stable distribution range of this species. Reliable collection records have established a tenable distribution that is primarily restricted to the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Although this species has been repeatedly introduced into the Southeast, it has yet to exhibit any feral, intergenerational success in this region despite its evolutionary adaptation to a humid subtropical climate, as found within its native habitat. It has also been repeatedly introduced into the Mountain States and Pacific Coast from California to British Columbia but has failed to establish a reproductive population in these areas despite its flourishing success in the Northeast, which typically has much harsher winters.
“Praying Mantises of the United States and Canada”
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Praying-Mantises-of-the-United-States-and-Canada
T. sinensis has been sold commercially and privately as a biological control agent for many decades throughout the United States, despite its generalist diet that includes many helpful pollinators, such as honey bees and butterflies, as well as conspecifics and native mantis species. Because of this human-aided dispersal, the seasonal presence of individuals in various parts of the country creates unique challenges to determine the stable distribution range of this species. Reliable collection records have established a tenable distribution that is primarily restricted to the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Although this species has been repeatedly introduced into the Southeast, it has yet to exhibit any feral, intergenerational success in this region despite its evolutionary adaptation to a humid subtropical climate, as found within its native habitat. It has also been repeatedly introduced into the Mountain States and Pacific Coast from California to British Columbia but has failed to establish a reproductive population in these areas despite its flourishing success in the Northeast, which typically has much harsher winters.
“Praying Mantises of the United States and Canada”
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Praying-Mantises-of-the-United-States-and-Canada
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