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Family MANTIDAE
- This page contains information and pictures about Garden Mantids or Garden Praying Mantids that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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 - Body length 40mm
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- Garden Praying Mantids are also known as Green Mantids. As compare
with other mantids, they are small to medium in size. They are green in colour
with the relative wide and straight flat thorax. Their forewings cover all
of its abdomen.
-
 
 - Male, body length 40mm
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- Garden Praying Mantids are one of the most common seen mantids in
Brisbane. They live in gardens and prey on different kinds of small
insects.
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  - Female, body length 40mm
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- When we took the above picture, this female adult mantid was hunting a small
moth
on a hibiscus outside our house. Female Garden Praying Mantid lay eggs
in oothecae which is hard and woody look, usually attached to
leaf, stem, fences or wall.
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Nymph
-
 
- Nymph, length 12mm
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-
- Nymph, length 15mm
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 - Nymph, length 20mm
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- Garden Praying Mantids are one of the most common seen mantids in
Brisbane. They live in gardens and feed on different kinds of small
insects. Nymphs look similar to their parents, except smaller and wingless. Their development cycle is in-complete
metamorphosis.
-
 
 - Late instars, length 40mm
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- The above
pictures were taken on Jan 2002, show a Garden Mantid Nymph, could be one or two
molting stages before adult. Its wings were still developing. This nymph is
green in colour, with the relatively wide and straight flat thorax. We did
not notice it
at all when we cut a branch of leaves to feed our stick insect, which we kept for studying. Then we saw it on the branch and
was trying to escape from us. This Garden Mantid
held its front legs very tight under its thorax make itself look like a
leaf, hardly
be noticed. When disturbed, it spreads
its front legs and show the distinctive bright blue marks, as seen on the
2nd picture.
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- Ootheca - Mantids eggs case of Garden Praying Mantid, 10mm x
15mm
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- On mid summer Jan 2004 we collected a oothecae of the Garden Praying Mantid,
which was laid under a leaf near the forest ground. We brought it home and
expected to see some young mantids come out. However, a few days later, we saw
a few small wasps came out instead. The oothecae was parasitised by wasp. More
information please click here.
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- Those are the empty Ootheca we found. The Garden Mantid Ootheca are quite common on leaves and stems in
gardens and bushes.
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- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 355.
- 2. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus
& Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p93.
- 3. Wildlife of Greater Brisbane - Published by Queensland
Museum 1995, p73.
- 4. Grasshopper
Country - the Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, D Rentz,
UNSW Press, 1996 p240.
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