from What's That Bug? at www.whatsthatbug.com
Brunner's Mantis
(09/23/2005) Can you ID this mantid?
Hi,
I found this today(9-23-05) at work. When I first saw it, I was about 11 feet away from it, I thought it was a walking stick. I approached it and started to pick it up when it raised its head and I saw that it wasn't a walking stick. I have never seen any mantid like it. I have lived in IN 33 yrs and now reside in SC(lived here going on 2 yrs). I have been coming to SC all my life and never even seen a mantid like this. It's about 7" long and thin. I'm sending 3 pics to help with identifying. Thanks,
Steven



Hi Steven,
At first we believed this was a Grass Mantid in the genus Thesprotia. They are found in the south and often confused for Walkingsticks. WE weren't totally convinces so we contacted Eric Eaton. Here is his positive identification: "Cool!  The image is of a Brunner's Mantis, Brunneria borealis, and it is a female (males are unknown for this species).  It ranges from North Carolina to Texas.  Thank goodness I have a copy of "How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches and Their Allies," 2nd Ed., by Jacques Helfer (Wm. C. Brown Co. Publishers).  I could not have ID'd this critter otherwise.  If submitter would care to post this to BugGuide.net, it would be a new genus and species for the site, helping other folks ID their own finds. Eric"