Blepharopsis mendica

Blepharopsis mendica is a species of praying mantis found in North Africa, parts of the Mediterranean, Middle East and southern Asia, and on the Canary Islands. Devil's flower mantis, Egyptian flower mantis, thistle mantis, and Arab mantis are among its common names.[2][3][4]

Blepharopsis mendica
B. mendica on a tyre of a car
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Mantodea
Family:
Empusidae
Genus:
Blepharopsis
Species:
B. mendica
Binomial name
Blepharopsis mendica
Fabricius, 1775
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms

Mantis mendica (Fabricius, 1775)[1]

In deimatic display, the adult rotates its head and thorax to one side, displaying the bright colours on the insides of its forelegs and the undersides of its hindwings, and holds its wings slightly spread behind the body, making it seem large and threatening.[5]

Range

Its range includes Afghanistan, Egypt, Algeria, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Palestine, Jordan, Canary Islands, Libya, Libanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Tschad, Tunisia, Turkey, and Cyprus.[1]

Habitat

This species lives in terrestrial areas like herbaceous vegetation and spiny bushes. Their color makes them well suited for mimicry of leaves, spiny or dry bushes, and vegetation in deserts due to their coloration (le male a des sortes de "poils"sur les antennes peu développées voir absente chez la femmelle)[6]

Subspecies

See also

References
Blepharopsis mendica found in Saudi Arabia
Blepharopsis mendica on hand from Saudi Arabia
Blepharopsis mendica close up of legs and abdomen
  1. Texas A&M University
  2. Mantis in Iberia Archived July 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Mantis Place Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Danne's Animals Archived 2012-06-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Thistle Mantis". Keeping Insects. 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  6. [7. http://oldredlist.iucnredlist.org/details/summary/57703/0 "IUCN"] Check |url= value (help).
  7. Mantodea.SpeciesFile.org species Blepharopsis mendica (Fabricius, 1775) Retrieval date: Feb. 10th 2016


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