Species Phyllovates chlorophaea - Texas Unicorn Mantis

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Texas Unicorn Mantis - Phyllovates chlorophaea

Unicorn eating wasp-moth, close-up - Phyllovates chlorophaea - female

Phyllovates female - Phyllovates chlorophaea - female

Mexican Unicorn Mantis - Phyllovates chlorophaea

Pseudovates chlorophaea - Texas Unicorn Mantis? - Phyllovates chlorophaea

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Mantodea (Mantids)

Family Mantidae

Subfamily Vatinae

Genus Phyllovates

Species chlorophaea (Texas Unicorn Mantis)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Pseudovates chlorophaea

Explanation of Names

Phyllovates chlorophaea (Blanchard 1836)

Identification

Head bears a pair of flattened dorsal projections between the eyes and antennae. Green wings, often with a few small brown spots; rest of body various shades of brown.

Range

c TX to C. America(1)

Habitat

Gardens and forests

Food

Seems to prefer flying insects much smaller than itself. In the wild frequently eats small butterflies and moths. In captivity will take flies, crickets, and occasionally roaches. Ambush predator, less prone to pursue prey than many other mantid species.

Life Cycle

Nymphs frequently curl their abdomen up over their back, in a posture reminiscent of a scorpion's tail, and also often hang upside-down from stems or branches in mimicry of a dead leaf.

Remarks

This species is becoming popular among captive breeding enthusiasts, not only for its distinctive appearance and large size, but also because its preference for smaller prey means that cannibalism is much rarer than in most other mantid species.

Captives have been reported using a defensive posture in which they raise the forelimbs, spread the wings, and expose the brightly marked abdomen.

Often comes to lights in south Texas.

Print References

Neck R.R. (1980) Invertebrates of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas with special reference to the southmost, Cameron County, area.

Orofino, Ippolito & Lombardo. 2006. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 132: 205-222.

Works Cited

1.	How to Know the Grasshoppers, Cockroaches, and Their Allies Jacques R. Helfer. 1962. Wm. C. Brown Company.

Contributed by Joshua Stuart Rose on 18 August, 2006 - 2:09pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Mike Quinn, Maury Heiman, v belov
Last updated 6 March, 2023 - 8:44pm

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