I think they look like chinese mantids-I bought them on the internet as eggs cases for my garden-I got 3 egg cases-they never said what species they were sending-we haven't had mantids in this area for a long time. Seems that most of them stayed and a few showed up from around the area-mostly males-I can't imagine why-LOL!

So what do you usually get when you buy them? They don't have that marking the mantids did when I was a kid-on the front legs-like a black spot on the inside surface-I never see any like that anymore.

anyway-some of these are all green and huge, some are green & brown and huge and small, and some are all brown both sizes.

They don't look like the florida mantids.

Confusing.....................but they sure are doing the job I put them out in my garden for-I just didn't think I'd see so many of the staying around.

Jo

Oh yeah-why do their eyes change colour at night? just curious.

The shift in pigments makes the mantis more sensitive to light than it is in the daytime as more ommatidia (the unit eyes that make up the compound eye of insects) can detect a given area of light

Most mantids sold throughout the internet and catalogs is the Chinese mantis.
The mantid with the black spot between the front legs is Mantis religiosa, the European mantis.
Both the European mantis and the Chinese mantis are not native to the US.
Most of the ones in the Key to Florda mantids are native aside from the European and the Chinese mantis.

Thanks-that was pretty much the reason I thought their eyes might change color but "if you don't ask you never know" that's what my Dad always says.

Are there any Mantids that are truly native to PA? Or are they all just imports over the years.

I'm 47 years old and the only ones I remember from when I was a kid are what you said are Europeon Mantids then. Chinese Mantids seem to be what we usually find here in the wild anyway. I hope it's not harmful to add a few more.

Thanks

Jo

These are the most common mantids found in PA:

The only native mantis that is found in PA the Carolina mantis which is occasionally found in southern PA

The European mantis was first observed near Rochester, N.Y. in 1899. It was subsequently transported to many northeaster localities.

The Chinese mantis was accidentally introduced from Asia. First observed near Philadelphia, PA. in 1896, and has since transported to many states. Prefers dry hillsides. Eggs survive the winters along the coast of the more northern states. This mantis will generally survive south of New York City to St. Louis.