What kind of mantis is it?
A female observed by the entomologist Piotr Naskrecki in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, was close to 20 cm long. It appears to be one of the longest mantises in Africa.
How to identify it
- Pointed spikes rise from the tips of the compound eyes.
- The thorax and abdomen are very thin and long.
- The body is gray-brown to tan.
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
- Pointed spikes on the tips of the compound eyes
- Very thin, long thorax and abdomen
- Long, bow-shaped pronotum
- Very thin, long body like a twig
- Leaf-like lobes on the abdomen and legs
Versus the Toxodera stick mantis: the Toxodera stick mantis lives in Southeast Asia and has a bow-shaped pronotum and leaf-like lobes.
Range
It lives on tall shrubs, bushes, and leafless branches in dry woodland savanna in Africa.
Behavior
At rest it stretches its long front legs out to the sides so it looks like two dry twigs.
When threatened, it rears up, spreads its front legs to show the bright markings inside, and opens its wings to show yellow and black patterns.
Size differs between expert field observations and care sources, so we give a range.