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mantis id (1 Viewer)

Motmot

Eduardo Amengual
Hi there,

This morning I found this mantis in my garden in central Spain. Its size was aprox. 4cm.
Could someone id it for me?
Thanks a lot
 

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Empusa pennata

Hi Motmot

It looks like an Empusa pennata to me (don't know whether there is an English name for it) with the characteristical head shape - it looks like it's wearing a helmet! This individual is still not fully developed and therefore doesn't have wings yet; the transformation into an adult mantis should happen sometime later this spring. In this species the female doesn't eat the male as it often happens in other mantis species.

All the best,

Iben
 
There are a few Empusids from Spain but I think Id go for E. pennata aswell. They all follow the basic body plan like the one in your photograph. They are fantastic and unusually for mantids overwinter in the nymphal stage (like your photo) and continue development in spring as Ien says.
 
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