NH 001
Praying Mantis
Category: Mantids/Phasmids
Family: Mantidae
And after a week long break from posting, the Sholesonian is back up with one of the very first insect specimens collected. This praying mantis, formally known as the European Mantis (Mantis religiosa) is very common across North-Eastern United States. Originating from Europe and North Africa it was introduced to the United States back in 1899 on a shipment of plants and has since exploded in population, so much so that it is now the state insect of Connecticut. Also, I'm sure you're all familiar that these guys are known as praying mantids due to their 'praying' form with their forelegs.
This particular guy was found trapped in a window at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York back in late August 2010 where he eventually perished due to natural causes. He (or she I'm not familiar with entomology enough to tell the difference) was subsequently vialed. You may note that in the vial the lower portion (on the left) is a bit indented which is where it was caught in the window and was bruised along with its left antenna being broken due to it drying out on the window before placing it into the alcohol. I apologize for the poor lighting but I was having difficulty with keep the glare off such a large vial and still being able to see all the distinctive features. All in all it is one of my favorite specimens in the Natural History Collection and you can read up on some more interesting facts at this Praying Mantis info site.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that these guys are also known for their 'sexual cannibalism' where the female will eat the male after or during mating. It turns out that this is controversial because as it happens frequently in a laboratory setting it is rarely seen in the field. Also, I do believe that this specimen is female as the males are usually more brown and smaller in size.
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