Mantidae in A Sentence

    1

    The Mantidae or " praying insects " have the prothorax elongate and the forelegs powerful and raptorial, while the large, broad head is prominent.

    2

    This is well exemplified by the leaf-insects (Phyllium) and stickinsects (Bactra), where the likeness to the models after which they are named is procryptic; and also by various species of tropical Mantidae which resemble flowers for the purpose of alluring insects within striking distance and perhaps also for concealing their identity from enemies.

    3

    Antmimicry has also been recorded in the case of the larva of one of the Indian species of Mantidae.

    4

    Finally the larva of one of the Bornean Mantidae, which is a floral simulator in its pupal and adult stages, closely resembles in its black and red coloration the larva of the stinking and warningly coloured bug Eulyes amoena.