ISSN 1364-3193

Mantis Study Group Newsletter 24 & 25

May / August 2002

Newsletter Editor
Phil Bragg
8 The Lane
Awsworth
Nottingham
NG16 2QP

Membership Secretary
Paul Taylor
24 Forge Road
Shustoke
Coleshill

Birmingham B46 2 AU

Editorial

With nothing submitted, there was no newsletter in May.
I have received one article for this newsletter - thanks
Andy. Andy’s article arrived in plenty of time for the
newsletter to be produced in August but unfortunately I
was rather busy with other things so I must apologise for
the lateness of this issue.

Exhibitions

5 th October 2002

AES exhibition at Kemp ton Park Racecourse. About one mile from junction one of the M3.
Doors open at 1100. The MSG will be exhibiting at this event.

2 nd November 2002

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Entomological Society exhibition. At Broomfield College,
Morley, Derbyshire. Open 1130-1630. Just off the A608, about 5km north of Derby. We
expect to be exhibiting at this event.

Mantids in 2001 — Andy Lasebny.

Last year’s (2000), search for Mantis religiosa for the filming of a BBC documentary,
resulted in a film called "Enter the Mantis". Though it has not been shown in the USA yet,
it was shown in the UK in the beginning of July. A few weeks before that, I did receive a
video tape from the BBC, as promised, of that program, and it is very interesting. Though
the mantids I gathered appeared in the film for only a few minutes, there was plenty of
interesting footage of many other species, including the foreleg waving communications of
flower mantids like Creobroter , which many of us who keep these have observed, but were
never filmed before. The film is very well done, and has a clever martial arts theme analogy,
with the face of Bruce Lee reflected in the eye of the mantis before it strikes - quite an
original and effective concept that ties the film together quite well. Unlike many nature films
I have seen that show an occasional mantis, this is the only one that seemed to have captured
that mantis "personality" that those of us who keep them know. By focusing on the face and
expressive body language more than other films of these creatures do, this film more
accurately shows someone not familiar with these creatures what they are really like. They
just seem so much more animated in this film. The only criticism I have of this and many
televised nature films is the lack of information given about the species and country of origin

MSG Newsletter, 24 & 25: 1

of many of the creatures being filmed. Though we as mantis keepers know much of this, it
would help to educate the genera] public about this some more, with a brief mention of the
scientific name, or at least genus, of the species that is on the screen and where it lives.
Only a few of the species shown had any mention of even what sort of habitat they live in.
Even if the creatures were not filmed in their native country on location, such information
could be helpful to anyone who is watching and would like to pursue the topic further.

This year, unlike the unusually cool summer of 2000, has been a typical New Jersey
summer. Warm temperatures into the mid 20’s Celsius with heat waves into the 30’s lasting
several days every so often. The first Mantis religiosa adult was a green male I found on
August 1. He was on the aluminum window frame of a liquor store, about 30cm above the
ground, at around 0815 in the downtown area where I work.

August 2nd - At 0730 I take the same walk as yesterday, but I start going in the other
direction - into town where the stores are first, then all the way around until I get back to the
office building I work in. There I find another green male Mantis religiosa , right under the
concrete ledge about 60cm above the ground, as I do each year in this spot.

August 5th - A case of "deja vu" from last year - a phone message from the BBC wanting
more mantids - just like last year. They apparently need some additional footage of mating
for another documentary. They want Mantis religiosa again.

August 7th - A walk at 0700 by the shopping centre outside of town on the highway does
not produce any mantids, but a drive to a nearby store does - a green male Mantis religiosa
is on the ground near the door. While walking in downtown, I find another green male on
the window frame of a store. The heatwave is on, and it supposed to stay hot and humid all
week - great for finding mantids.

August 8th - This time, a walk at the shopping centre on the highway does produce results -
a green male on a vertical window frame, (they usually hide on the inner surface, pressed
down toward the frame, close to the glass), and one on the ceiling of the canopy walkway.
He is too high to reach, so I continued my walk, hoping to get him later with a stick. On
the way I see a green female on the other side of the parking lot on the stalk of a small shrub
that is part of some landscaping around a small restaurant building. She appears to have just
landed there and was about to take off to go onto the nearby wall when I got her. As I walk
back to get the other male, I find a tall weed behind a building and pull it out of the ground
in order to use it as a way of getting him down. As I approach the spot where he is, I see
3 sparrows - one had just come down from where he is - I thought the bird ate him, but no,
as I get closer I notice he is in his threat posture, with wings raised and forelegs folded back -
looks like he successfully fought off the bird. I did not think this rather small species would
be effective in deterring a bird. The temperature is 38°C in the afternoon.

August 9th - The same walk, at 0745, and as I walk along I see a green female Mantis
religiosa right on the upper portion of the stucco entrance of one of the stores at the shopping
centre. She is way out of reach. I see her looking up at something - there is a large green
katydid up near the roof. I continue walking, and find no more, and when I get back to her,
she is even higher up, over 6m, near the roof. I drive to a nearby department store parking
lot, and see a green male right on the window as I drive by. I take him and go downtown.
As I walk around the building I work in, I find a brown male right under the concrete
projection only a few metres from where I found the one on August 2nd. During lunch, I
drive to the shopping centre to see if the female has come down. She is still way up there.
Even though the temperature is 39°C, it does not appear to bother her. I thought she would
have been seeking shelter under the canopy by now. At home at night, at around a half hour

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before midnight, I go out into the hot 24°C night to walk the dog, and see a green female
Mantis religiosa on the door of a house only a few houses away from mine. She is on the
door frame under a bright light. I take her home and put her into a cage.

August 10th - The female that was high up on the store wall is gone by morning. Who
knows what happened to her. Nothing new at this area, but I do find a brown male in the
downtown area on a donut shop window frame, close to where I found the first one of the
year on the liquor store window frame.

August 11th - On this Saturday night, after coming back from a concert, my wife and I
decide to go to a restaurant that is open 24 hours, not far from the town I live in. After
eating, sometime after midnight, I walk out the door and see a female Mantis religiosa up on
the window head of one of the many large windows along the front. I go to the car and get
a stick, and get her down.

August 13th - The usual morning walk before work, and I do not find any until I drive into
the downtown area. There I see a green mantis as I am waiting at the traffic light. It is high
up, at least 6m, on the light gray stucco wall of a tall building. I drive to the office and park
the car. I walk over to the area and see that it is a green male, but he is way too high. I
continue walking, and toward the end of the walk I find a green female right up under a
window head on one of the stores close to where I found 2 males earlier in the month. She
is easy to reach, and I take her.

August 14th - No Mantis religiosa found today, but in the evening on the way home, a few
miles from my house, I stop into a supermarket and find the first adult Tenodera aridifolia
sinensis female on the window sill of the store. She is big and brown, and an adult right on
time. Though the nymphs had a poor start in June, with some very small nymphs growing
too slowly in early July seen in various gardens, the extreme heat later in the month and in
August caused them to grow very fast and they caught up.

August 15th - The morning walk produced nothing, but when I walked to a different part of
town during lunch and came near an area I was at in the morning, I saw a yellowish tan male
Mantis religiosa on the side of a red aluminum window frame of a video rental store.
Though I was near there in the morning, I did not walk to the very end of the building, so
I did not see him then. He was probably there all along. In the evening, I drive to the same
supermarket as yesterday, and find a green male Mantis religiosa under a window sill.
August 16th - In the morning, I find a green female Mantis religiosa on the window frame
of a large department store near the other shopping centre outside of town, same place as on
August 9th.

August 17th - Nothing in the morning, but when I went to the bank in the downtown area,
as I walked down a side street, I spotted a brown female Mantis religiosa on the window of
a small commercial building next to the bank. She is an interesting dark bronze colour, with
golden highlights on the wings and parts of the body. At night, I drive home a different way,
and as I drive toward the ocean, I see a mantis profile on the door frame of a boat dealer.
I can see it from the highway, and I turn around. It is a brown female Tenodera aridifolia
sinensis . I take her and release her near my house into the dune grass by the beach.
August 19th - I go shopping to a large mall about 15 minutes from my house. I pull into
the parking lot in front of one of the large department stores, and as I am walking toward the
entrance, I see a green male Mantis religiosa on the corner of the bright white painted
concrete block wall. I take him and put him and put him in a bag, then go shopping. On
the way out, I take a closer look around the entrance, and there is a green female right behind
the garbage can, below where the male was. Curious, I drive around to the other entrance,

MSG Newsletter, 24 & 25: 3

and see two more of the same species. Both are too high to reach, but one is possible. I
come back later after the store closes and reach a green male with a stick, but another one
is way up about 8m high, so 1 do not get that one.

August 20th - During my usual walk this monday morning, I find a green male Mantis
religiosa on the window head of the same liquor store I found the first one of the season,
in the downtown area.

August 21st - During the morning walk around the shopping centre by the highway, and find
a green male on the wall below the glass storefront - he is in the process of eating a moth.

I was thinking of letting him finish the meal, but there are so many birds around that if I do
not take him now, a bird might, since he is only a few centimetres above the ground. During
lunch, 1 walk to the bank, and look at the windows of the small commercial building that I
found the female on 4 days ago. To my surprise, there is a green male on the same window,
only about 15cm away from where the female was. Very strange coincidence. Or did the
male detect some left over female pheromones? On the way home from work I stop into the
supermarket that I found the big Chinese female on August 14 th . I take a quick look, and see
nothing. But when I enter the store, I notice a green male Mantis religiosa on the inside of
the vestibule. He must have flown in when the door was open the night before.

August 23rd - I have the day off from work, so I do not do my usual walk, but in the
afternoon, as I am driving down one of the highways not far from where I live, I stop at a
traffic light and see a brown mantis on the window of a furniture store, near the ground. I
park the car and get out, and it is a female Mantis religiosa. But she is injured - a back leg
is missing, and there is some abdominal damage. She must have slammed into the window
at full speed while flying.

August 24th - I arrive early at the shopping centre on the highway where I work, and find
a brown female Tenodera aridifolia sinensis. She is at the top of one of the concrete columns
that hold up the canopy. I get her down with a stick.

August 28th - The season for Mantis religiosa is winding down, and there appear to be no
more coming to the lights. The females are without a doubt too heavy to fly by now, and
the males are too busy mating, and there have been a lot of losses due to predation by birds,
other mantids, and other natural means. This morning I walk throughout the same places and
find nothing - until at the end of the walk, right across from that liquor store in the downtown
area where I found the first one of the season, I spot a green mantis up on the highest portion
of one of the concrete columns that hold up the canopy roof. I see it as I look back from
about 8m away. As I approach it to get a better look, it appears to big to be a Mantis
religiosa , but too small to be a Tenodera aridifolia sinensis , unless it is a very undersized
one. Looks like it may be a Tenodera angustipennis . I go back to the car and get a stick,
and get this green female down. The orange spot between the forelegs positively identifies
her as Tenodera angustipennis. Good - all three New Jersey species this year! Now if I
could find a male, it would be great.

August 29th - This morning, during the downtown part of the walk, as I walked around one
of the buildings to get to the other side where the parking lot is, I looked down by the wall
and spotted a greyish brown mantis on the ground at the base of the wall - another female
Tenodera angustipennis. I have not seen a brown female of this species since the late 1970’s.
It’s strange how in the three New Jersey mantis species different species have different colour
variations that are more common. In T. sinensis , brown is more common. In M. religiosa
and T. angustipennis , green is more common. But only in females - all T. angustipennis
males I ever saw were always brown, except for that green stripe along the edge of the

MSG Newsletter, 24 & 25: 4

forewing. And in this species that stripe is duller in colour than in T. sinensis .

August 30th - During the first part of the walk at the shopping centre by the highway, I find
a green male Mantis religiosa hanging upside down from the ceiling of the canopy walkway,
and get him down with a stick. For some reason, there has been an unusually large number
of small grasshoppers around the storefronts the last few days, and today there are at least
2 dozen. These are red-legged grasshoppers, a very common species found here. Free
mantis food - so I quickly fill a bag with these.

September 1st - During the late morning, I am driving through a beach town 3 towns south
of my town. As I stop at a traffic light, I spot a green female Mantis religiosa on the dark
red painted wall of a fast food restaurant. I drive into the parking lot and take her. Further
in that town I see a brown male of this species on the wall of a hardware store. I take him
as well. Later in the evening, I go to the shopping centre about 10 minutes north on the
highway that has the supermarket I found mantids on previously, and find a green male on
the wall of a nearby movie theatre.

September 3rd - After going shopping to the supermarket where I had found mantids
previously, I find a green male Mantis religiosa inside the building again - this one not just
in the vestibule, but on the concrete block wall by the cash registers.

This became the very last Mantis religiosa that I found this season. They were packed up
and shipped out to the UK on Monday, September 24th. There were many delays, and
difficulty in finding a shipping company that would take the package for a reasonable price,
all due to the attack on New York City on September 11th. But they did arrive safely, 22
individuals, seven of them females. Throughout September, there were many sightings of
Tenodera aridifolia sinensis , mostly in the town I live in, in various gardens. In my garden,
several females of that species were in the butterfly bush, once again, and they were preying
on the various species of butterflies that came to the flowers. Large numbers of monarchs,
up to a dozen at one time, would come, in addition to painted ladies, red admirals, and
various swallowtails. The monarchs were frequent victims, as the mantids stalked them
throughout each day. Several males passed through the garden, and the first egg case was
made on around September 15th. Though these mantids did manage to reproduce last year
and continue living in my garden, I saw less of these in other gardens than I did last year.
On a few mornings in late September, I saw several males on walls of houses and garages,
and a few on plants in gardens in the late morning and early afternoon, but not as many as
last year. Fewer still in October, and by the third week of that month, none were visible
anymore. However, on November 4th, I saw a green female Tenodera aridifolia sinensis on
the Clematis vine that is on my back fence. It was a relatively mild day, and she had come
out of the dense vine. I took that one in. With still no frost on the 11th, I saw a brown
female in a nearby garden, in a fenced in property, about a half a block from the beach.
Why the lower number of adults this year I do not know, but last year’s unusually cool
weather may have prevented many of the females from laying eggs in time, causing a lower
number of hatchlings to be present this year. Or it could be a coincidence in that more egg
cases were lost in the winter due to birds or rodents finding them, plus a combination of more
egg cases that usual getting thrown out when gardeners trimmed their shrubs. After all, there
was a normal number in my garden. After lots of consistently warm days, a light frost came
on December 10th, but not really enough to even damage annuals. In theory, there could
have been a live mantis or two still alive out in these coastal gardens in mid-December, but
there is so little plant density left that only those lucky enough to be in evergreen shrubs and
near some of the few and far between flowers would survive. Once dense natural meadows

MSG Newsletter, 24 & 25: 5

are nothing but sparse dry stalks now, so no mantis could have been in those places after
early to mid November. This year, mantis season here at the shore does not end with a
definite, hard killing frost, but slowly fades away as the strangely warm weather of this
December slowly cools down, and dips below freezing during the week of Christmas.

An introduction to
Rearing Praying Mantids

A 5 softback, 16 pages, 10 figs. ISBN 0-9531195-0-5.

This book describes methods of rearing and breeding praying mantids.
The headings include: An introduction to praying mantids. Types of
mantids. Structure of mantids, Mantids in captivity. Cages, Feeding,
Breeding, Sexing, Mating, Egg laying. Identification, Preserving mantids.
Obtaining mantids. Distributing mantids, and Sources of further
information.

The book is illustrated with 10 black and white drawings, plus
one on the front cover. The drawings illustrate six different species of
mantids, how to distinguish the sexes, details of the fore leg, and an
internal view of an egg case

An Introduction to

Rearing Cockroaches

by

Phil E. Bragg

An introduction to
Rearing Cockroaches

A5 softback, 16 pages, 14 figs. ISBN 0-9531195-1-3.

This book is intended as a beginners’ guide to rearing cockroaches. It is
illustrated with 14 black and white drawings, plus one on the front cover.
The drawings illustrate eight different species of cockroaches and show
how to distinguish Lhe sexes.

There is a general introduction to cockroaches with information
on the structure and different types. The commonly available species are
grouped according to general type and their suitability for culturing.
Cages, feeding, sexing and preserving are all discussed. There are
suggestions on obtaining and distributing cockroaches, and there is a list
of books offering further information.

Price; £2,50 each. Postage should be added at the following rates: UK 20p, Europe 70p, Elsewhere £1.10.

Orders and payment in pounds sterling should be sent to:

P.E. Bragg, 8 The Lane, Awsworth, Nottingham, NG16 2QP, U.K.

MSG Newsletter, 24 & 25: 6