Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Pseudovates chlorophaea
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.
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.
