The praying mantis, or European Mantis, was "introduced to eastern North America in the 1890s and into the Okanagan Valley (to control grasshoppers) in 1938-39." (Cannings and Scudder 2005). It is a distinctive easy-to-recognize species. It ranges in length from 47-56 mm, has large leathery forewings, a triangular head that can rotate and swivel, large eyes, and may be brown or green (Cannings and Scudder 2005, and others). It has a distinctive white spot ringed with black on the 'foreleg' (fore coxae) that makes identification easy. It is also easily recognized by the 'praying' pose that you can see in the photograph above.
Biology
Diet :
The European mantis is carnivore and a generalist predator (Eisenberg and Hurd 1990). It feeds on a variety of other insects, including the Red-legged Grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum) (Mook and Davies 1966).
Reproduction:
"Females lay large, oval eggmasses on twigs or flat surfaces; the eggs overwinter and adults appear in August. " (Cannings and Scudder 2005). The eggs are produced at the end of summer (Eisenberg and Hurd 1990).
Habitat
"This species, unlike the Ground Mantis, lives in tall, rank vegetation bordering fields and roads and in uncultivated fields." (Cannings and Scudder 2005). In Europe, habitat is described as "a pattern of grassland
and thorny bushes of the Rosaceae family." (Battistoni and Fontana 2010).
Distribution
Range
Gobal Range:
The European mantis is native to southern Europe but is now found worldwide. It is report to have arrived in North America on a shipment of nursery plants (Wikipedia 2011).
BC Range:
"For many years the European Mantis was scarce in BC, but since the 1970s it has become common, especially between Okanagan Falls and Osoyoos. In the 1990s the European Mantis spread northwards to the Vernon. In 1999, it was collected in the wild on Vancouver Island at Maple Bay, where it appears to have become established, probably from locally released specimens" (Cannings and Scudder 2005).
Comments
The green or brown colouring of the European mantis provides good camouflage for it. Colour may change with the season.
Battistoni, Roberto and Paolo Fontana. 2010. Colour change and habitat preferences in Mantis religiosa. Bulletin of Insectology 63 (1): 85-89.
Cannings, Robert and Scudder, G. G. E. 2005. Mantids of British Columbia. In: Klinkenberg, Brian (ed.) E-Fauna BC: Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia. Available online.
Eisenberg, R. M. and L. E. Hurd, 1990. Egg dispersion in two species of praying mantids (Mantodea: Mantidae). Journal Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 92 (4): 808-810.
Mook, L. J. and D. M. Davies. 1966. The European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa L.) as a Predator of the Red-legged Grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum (De Geer). The Canadian Entomologist 98:(9) 913-918.
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2021. E-Fauna BC:
Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia [efauna.bc.ca]. Lab
for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed:
2026-06-10 8:27:03 AM]
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