Mantoida

Abstract: A wasp mimicking praying mantis (Mantodea) of the early evolving Mantoididae family was discovered in 2013 at a research station near the Amazon River in Northern Peru. This adult specimen exhibited a striking bright red/orange and black coloration pattern that was undocumented in all known praying mantis species. We tested the status of this new specimen using external morphology, male genital dissections, and geographic distribution. Our findings demonstrate the specimen to represent a new species, Vespamantoida wherleyi gen. nov. sp. nov., that is closely allied with a recently described species, Mantoida toulgoeti Roy, 2010, both of which are included within the newly erected genus. To support our actions, we present high resolution images of museum preserved and living specimens, morphological illustrations, a generic-level distribution map, and recorded video of the behavior of the holotype taken in the field at the time of collection. The bright red/orange coloration contrasted with black markings, the general appearance of a hymenopteran that includes a narrowed wasp waist, and the locomotory patterns and antennal movements mark this newly discovered species as unique among all hymenopteran mimicking Mantoididae as well as all other praying mantises.

Abstract: We report a specimen of the praying mantis genus Mantoida Newman, 1838, which we discovered among the undetermined Mantodea material in the collection of the Zoological Museum of the University of Hamburg. According to the label, the specimen was collected in 1902 on Isla de la Mona (Mona Island) in the Caribbean Sea. The recognized distribution of Mantoida is South and Central America as well as Florida. The new location expands the currently known distribution of the genus into the central Caribbean. We furthermore report the � rst � ndings of Mantoida on Isla de Margarita off the coast of Venezuela as well as the � rst observations of dry habitat use and biology for this genus, including a previously unknown unique egg-laying behavior.

Abstract: Ant resemblance is common among praying mantis nymphs but switching the model of resemblance across the post-embryonic instars has been previously recorded only for Mantoida maya Saussure & Zehntne...