By Asael Paredes
Geographic Range
This species is found in southern North America, from the state of New Jersey west to Illinois, Missouri, Texas, and Arizona, and down through Mexico to Central America. (Lutz, 1948)
Habitat
Mantids are found in woodlands and meadows, especially around flowering plants.
Terrestrial Biomes:
savanna or grassland 
; forest ; scrub forest .
Physical Description
The Carolina mantid grows up to be about 4-7 cm in length with a large head and abdomen. They have a pair of large forelegs that are serrated and spiny and folded back like a pocket knife. The body color is a tannish-brown with wings that are light green. They hold their forelegs up in a praying position to grab prey. Adult males are smaller and more slender than females, and have longer wings. (Lutz, 1948; Lyon and March 22, 2000; Teyssier, Jul/Aug '97)
Some key physical features:
ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry .
Sexual dimorphism: female larger.
Reproduction
Stories of mantid cannibalism during mating are well known, but frequently exagerated. Female mantids do sometimes attack and eat males during courtship or mating. This kind of cannibalism in Stagmomantis carolina has only been observed scientifically in the laboratory, and it is not known whether it occurs in natural conditions. It is partly a function of female hunger: well-fed females are much less likely to attack their mates. The voracious hunger of mantids is no surprise -- each female will produce one or more egg pods, each of which weighs about a third of her body weight. She needs a lot of food to make that reproductive effort, and male mantids are one of the largest and most easily acquired prey around her.
Females lay their eggs in a case formed from a liquid foam secreted from abdominal glands. The foam quickly hardens to form a protective shell. In temperate North America, all adult mantids die in the winter, and only eggs survive to the following spring. There is one report of overlapping generations of S. carolina occuring in Florida. (Hurd, 1999; Price, 1984)
Key reproductive features:
semelparous ; seasonal breeding ; sexual ; fertilization (internal ); oviparous .
Behavior
Mantids are ordinarily very sedentary, and may spend their whole lives on one tree or in a single meadow. They will stay in one place as long as there is a good supply of food. In late summer males start to move around more, looking for potential mates. Males fly more than females, usually at night (Hurd 1999)
Mantids have "ears" on their bodies that can detect high-frequency sounds like those used by bats to hunt, and a flying mantid will land or change its flight pattern if it hears such sounds (Yager 1999). (Hurd, 1999; Yager, 1999)
Food Habits
The Carolina mantid usually uses a "sit-and-wait" tactic of obtaining its prey. It waits quietly, and attacks any insects that come near, grabbing them with it's forelegs. Often it will wait near a flower and attack the insects that come to the flower to feed. Occasionally mantids will stalk prey, but this is not common. Ants are one of the prey types that S. carolina will sometimes chase (Preston-Mafham 1993). This species, like all mantids, is cannibalistic. Mantid nymphs and adults will eat other. (Hurd, 1999)
Primary Diet:
carnivore (insectivore ).
Animal Foods:
insects.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Mantids eat all kinds of insects and spiders, some of which are themselves beneficial, including useful pollinators like bees and flies, and spiders that attack aphids. (Hurd, 1999)
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
This species consumes many insects, including a large number that are agricultural pests. It is widely sold for use in gardens, though the effectiveness of mantids as biological control agents is not known. (Hurd, 1985)
Ways that people benefit from these animals:
controls pest population.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: [link]:
Not Evaluated.
US Federal List: [link]:
No special status.
CITES: [link]:
No special status.
The Carolina Mantid is common insect in the United States. (Lyon 2000)
Other Comments
The common name comes from the Greek word "mantis" which means prophet. They are always in a striking position with their arms folded in prayer.
Praying mantises occur all over the world, and there over 1000 species that vary widely in size and appearance.
In the United States, mantids are most commonly seen during September and early October, when they are largest, and most actively pursuing reproduction.
In the northern U.S. the commonly seen mantids are two introduced species: the Chinese mantid, Tenodera aridifolia, and the European mantid, Mantis religiosa. (Lyon and March 22, 2000; Teyssier, Jul/Aug '97)
For More Information
Find Stagmomantis carolina information at
Contributors
Sara Diamond (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
Asael Paredes (author), Southwestern University.
Stephanie Fabritius (editor), Southwestern University.
