AUDINET-SERVILLE, 1831
Unusual praying mantis, inhabits trees and shrubs in forests and even salt marshes. Males and females similar when young, quite distinct as adults. Only males fly.
HOW TO IDENTIFY IN NATURE
The mantises of the genus Acanthops are popularly known as the dry-leaf mantis. They have the appearance of a dead leaf, with a predominantly brown body (or in shades of orange, beige, greyish, dark green). Females live hanging upside down, usually in an inverted V angle, leaving them looking like dry, withered leaves. The male rests on top of leaves and branches with the raptorials stretched out, looking like a dry leaf that has just fallen from a tree. Both have conical eyes and wings longer than the abdomen. They have lateral projections in the abdomen region, more accentuated in females, giving an even greater aspect of dry leaf to individuals. Underneath the wings of adults, the abdomen is striped, with striking colors in females (black, red and yellow stripes) and a little less evident in males.
17
SPECIES
GENDER WITH
4
SPECIES IN BRAZIL
A. falconry | A. fuscifolia
a. silly | a. fraud
EYES
Conical eyes, with the top as a point
ABDOMEN
Leaf appearance of the abdomen in males, females and nymphs. Colored and striped upper on adults.
TEXTURE
General appearance of a dry leaf, with an evident texture on the wings.
WINGS
Females with a long, rounded sickle-shaped tip. Males with indented wings like a guitar.
BEHAVIOR AND HABITAT
They are quite calm. The female usually reacts to the encounter by staying extremely still, sometimes stretching her raptorials like a twig. In some cases the female may assume the deimatic defense position, displaying the wings and colored abdomen. Females and males can also play dead (thanatosis) when handled or touched, becoming fully withdrawn and immobile. They live in the midst of forest vegetation. Nymphs and adult females live hanging under branches amidst the green. The adult male lives on the leaves and stems, resting with the raptorials stretched out during the day. They can be found at heights close to the ground to higher strata of the forest. We have already found nymphs in very low grass branches in a restinga forest.
DO NOT CONFUSE WITH:
METHYLY
DECIMIAN
MIRACANTHOPS
HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE
They are quite calm. The female usually reacts to the encounter by staying extremely still, sometimes stretching her raptorials like a twig. In some cases the female may assume the deimatic defense position, displaying the wings and colored abdomen. Females and males can also play dead (thanatosis) when handled or touched, becoming fully withdrawn and immobile. They live in the midst of forest vegetation. Nymphs and adult females live hanging under branches amidst the green. The adult male lives on the leaves and stems, resting with the raptorials stretched out during the day. They can be found at heights close to the ground to higher strata of the forest. We have already found nymphs in very low grass branches in a restinga forest.
OOTECA
like a small pod, hanging by a thread under logs or branches. Very similar to other mantises in the Acanthopidae family.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND
CLASS Insect Linnaeus, 1758
ORDER Burmeister Mantodea, 1838
FAMILY Acanthopidae Burmeister, 1838
SUBFAMILY Acanthopinae Burmeister, 1838
TRIBE Acanthopini Burmeister, 1838
GENRE Acanthops Audinet-Serville, 1831
SCIENTIFIC DIAGNOSIS: Body with length ranging from 40 to 50 mm, with dark brown or orange coloration with bright dark spots on the abdominal tergites. Compound eyes ovoid or rounded with a conical apex. Occipital area smooth or with tubercles close to ocular suture. Anterior femur with six external spines, with the exception of A. tuberculata which has seven spines.; Basal dorsal margin with or without lobes. Anterior Tibia with 18-19 sloping external spines and 16-18 internal spines. Wings well developed in males, not so developed in females. Excavated margin of the costal region of the mesothoraxic wings of males; mid-thorax wings of females with large apically reduced basal costal area. Enlarged abdomen with lobes/projections reminiscent of leaves. Supranal plate with recessed apex; sieges with the last segment bilobed or not.
LITERATURE: