What kind of mantis is it?
The body is spotted in green and white, with a wide white band across the forewings. The hindwings are orange. Females grow bigger than males.
How to identify it
- A wide white crossband runs across the forewings.
- The hindwings are orange.
- First-instar nymphs are red and black and resemble ants.
Size comparison
Banded flower mantisUp to 50 mm
₩500 coin (diameter)26.5 mm
024681012cm
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
- Broad white band across the forewings
- Orange hindwings
- Middle and hind femurs wide like petals
- White and pink body mimics an orchid flower
Versus the orchid mantis: the orchid mantis is white and pink all over and has legs as wide as petals.
Range
It lives in tropical vegetation with flowers and leaves in Southeast Asia. There isn't much research on its specific habitat.
Behavior
An ambush hunter that waits for prey among flowers and leaves.
Fun facts
- Phylogenetic studies group it with the orchid mantis in a clade of flower mantises in which "the female is much bigger than the male" (Hymenopus, Helvia, Theopropus).
- There's a record that, even when they hatch from the same egg case and grow under the same conditions, individuals can differ in color among reds, greens, and yellows (the data is limited, so it isn't certain).