What kind of mantis is it?
It was first collected around Moaksan in Wanju, North Jeolla, in September 2018, and its Korean record was published in a 2021 paper. It has since been found in Suncheon (2019) and Yeosu (2022) in South Jeolla, Hadong in South Gyeongsang, Gumi in North Gyeongsang, Daegu, and Cheongju in North Chungcheong (2023), so the places where it's found keep growing.
The Korean record (published 2021) came before the Japanese record (published 2022). In Japan it is treated as an introduced species.
How to identify it
- There is no pattern on the underside of the thorax. The giant Asian mantis has 2 purple bands. This is the key identifying feature used in the paper's identification key.
- The forewings have a white spot (stigma). The giant Asian mantis has one too, so this alone doesn't tell them apart.
- It has been reported to have 7–10 spines on the front coxa, more than the giant Asian mantis (3–4).
- It has been reported to have pinkish side edges on the pronotum and an orange to red tint on the underside of the thorax. The "red" and "long-necked" in its Korean name seem to come from this color and the long pronotum.
Look-alikes
- No bands under the thorax; orange to reddish
- White forewing spot (same as giant Asian mantis)
- Longer pronotum with pinkish edges
- 7–10 coxal spines (giant Asian mantis has 3–4)
- White spot on the forewing (dark rim)
- 2 purple bands across the underside of the thorax
- Broad, thick abdomen
- 2–5 large, round yellow spines on the front coxa
Versus the giant Asian mantis: the giant Asian mantis has 2 purple bands on the underside of the thorax. Photos alone often can't settle it, so check the underside of the thorax first.
Where and when to find it
It spends its whole life under leaves in woods with bushes and tall trees. When first collected, too, it was found under the leaves of tall trees and in dense bushes.
The young hatch in early July, and adults are usually seen from late August to late October.
Egg case
It lays on branches. We haven't yet been able to confirm Korean measurements for egg case size and shape.
Behavior
Like the giant Asian mantis, nymphs curl the abdomen up over the back.
A Japanese study reported that nymphs molt 5–7 times to become adults.
Fun facts
- In older Chinese literature it was confused with other giant Asian mantis relatives, and the classification was sorted out in reviews after 2020.
News articles say things like "twice as big as native mantises" and "drives out the giant Asian mantis," but we found no size measurements taken in Korea or data on declines in numbers, so we left them out. The spine counts and chest color were confirmed through the paper's abstract.
Sources
- Shim & Song (2024) A taxonomic review of the order Mantodea in Korea based on morphology and DNA barcodes. ZooKeys 1206: 1–43
- Shim et al. (2021) Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 14(1): 121–126 (first Korean record)
- Ioka et al. (2022) Entomological Science
- Yamasaki et al. (2022) Check List 18(1): 147 (Japanese record)