What kind of mantis is it?
The smallest of Korea's mantises. Males are about 12–13 mm and females about 14–15 mm. The forewings are only about 1.6 mm long, so almost the whole abdomen shows.
Its Korean name (jopssal-samagwi) is easy to confuse with the lesser mantis (jom-samagwi), but they're completely different species. In Korea it was first recorded in a 1996 survey of Bogildo.
How to identify it
- Very small, 12–15 mm long.
- Its wings are very short (forewing about 1.6 mm), leaving the abdomen exposed.
- Light brown to dark brown body with irregular dark spots, and 5 dark dots behind the top of the head.
- The pronotum is very short and kite-shaped.
Size comparison
Body length runs from the head to the tip of the abdomen, using the maximum of the larger sex. The bars only show relative size, so they don't match real size on screen.
Look-alikes
- Very short wings leave the abdomen exposed (12–15 mm)
- Very short, kite-shaped pronotum
- 5 dark dots behind the top of the head
- Irregular dark spots on the body
- Pale stripes on the compound eyes
- Slanting brown stripes on the forewings
- Wings reach past the abdomen tip (body 23–32 mm)
- Dark crossbands on middle and hind legs
Versus the Japanese boxer mantis: the Japanese boxer mantis is bigger at 23–32 mm, and its wings extend past the tip of the abdomen.
- Very short wings leave the abdomen exposed (12–15 mm)
- Very short, kite-shaped pronotum
- 5 dark dots behind the top of the head
- Irregular dark spots on the body
- Square black spot inside the coxa; membrane is pearly pink
- White mark between 2 black spots inside the femur; pink tip
- Hindwing front reddish brown with a dark central blotch
Versus the lesser mantis: the lesser mantis is a long-winged mantis of 35–58 mm. Only the Korean names are similar.
Where and when to find it
It lives under leaf litter in shady spots, among leaves and stones on the ground. It has been found on Geoje, on Yeoseodo and Bogildo in Wando, and on Jeju.
The young hatch in mid-June to early July, and adults appear from mid-August through October.
Egg case
It's a triangular prism only 3–5 mm long. The reddish-brown outer wall has lengthwise lines on the sides, and inside are just 4–8 egg chambers. A long, thread-like tip remains at the end. It's laid under leaf litter on the ground or between stones.
Behavior
It trembles its antennae and waves its front legs. It lives in the leaf litter on the ground and lays its egg cases close to the ground too.
Fun facts
- Its egg case is just 3–5 mm, the size of a grain of rice, with only 4–8 egg chambers inside.
- The Yeoseodo population and the Geoje and Jeju populations differ in the shape of the male genitalia, but genetic differences are 0.3% or less, confirming they're the same species.
Korean specimens have been recorded as the short-winged form. A study from Taiwan reports a long-winged form in males, so we haven't generalized that "no individual can fly."