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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Mantids (Mantodea) » Mantidae » Mantinae » Tenodera » Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

Species Tenodera sinensis - Chinese Mantis

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Immature Chinese Mantid - Tenodera sinensis - male Are the brown and green different species? - Tenodera sinensis mating Chinese mantids? - Tenodera sinensis Chinese Mantis? - Tenodera sinensis - male WI082115 - 1B - Tenodera sinensis Tenodera sinensis? - Tenodera sinensis Mantis species - Tenodera sinensis Mantis species? - Tenodera sinensis - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Mantodea (Mantids)
Family Mantidae
Subfamily Mantinae
Genus Tenodera
Species sinensis (Chinese Mantis)
Other Common Names
Giant Japanese Mantis
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Tenodera sinensis (Saussure, 1871)
Syn: Tenodera aridifolia sinensis (Saussure, 1871)
Size
The largest species in North America, it can reach 11 cm. (1)
Identification
The facial shield (plate below antennal insertion and between the eyes) is relatively wide and narrow (width is more than 2X its depth) in Stagmomantis (1, 2 and 3), more squarish (width less than 1.5X its depth) in Tenodera sinensis (4 and 5)
1. 2. 3.          4. 5.
Range
e NA plus scattered w. US locations (BG data); eastern Asia and nearby islands (1)
Season
mostly Summer and Fall (BG data)
Food
Carnivorous, eats other insects, both pests and beneficials. Also capable of eating small animals like frogs, lizards and even hummingbirds!
Life Cycle
1. Ootheca. 2. First instar nymph. 3. Older nymph 4. Adult female. 5. Adult male
Remarks
Introduced from China in 1896 to combat pests. (1) It out competes many of the native preying mantises, which are in decline.
See Also
Compare with T. angustipennis, the Narrow-winged Mantid, as both are similar in appearance. (2)
Print References
"Peterson's Field Guide to Insects" p.86-87.(3)
"Garden Insects of North America" p. 554-555.(4)
"National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders" p.398, pl.298. (5)
Bartley, J. A. 1982. Movement patterns in adult male and female mantids, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis (Orthoptera: Mantodea). Environmental Entomology 11(5): 1108-1111.
Eisenberg et al. 1992. Adult dispersal of Tenodera aridifolia sinensis (Mantodea: Mantidae). Environmental Entomology 21(2): 350-353.
Internet References
Wikipedia
Journal of animal ecology
EOL
The USDA site of Forestry Images has numerous photos.
Works Cited
1.How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies
Jacques R. Helfer. 1962. Wm. C. Brown Company.
2.Florida Preying Mantids - Insecta - Mantodea
3.A Field Guide to Insects
Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson. 1998. Houghton Mifflin Co.
4.Garden Insects of North America : The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides)
Whitney Cranshaw. 2004. Princeton University Press.
5.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 6 March, 2005 - 5:05pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Matthias Buck, Mike Quinn, Chuck Sexton
Last updated 19 September, 2021 - 9:08am

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