European Mantis

(Mantis Religiosa) Originating in southern Europe and temperate Asia, the European mantis was introduced to North America in 1899 on a shipment of nursery plants. Now they are found all over north-eastern America, and has become one of the most well-known and widespread species of mantis. It can be distinguished easily by a black-ringed spot beneath the for coxae.

The European mantis is the official State Insect of Connecticut, earning this place on the 1st of October in 1977. Although its not native to Connecticut, these green, or brown, mantids can be found throughout the state from early May or June until the cold weather sets in.

After mating in fall, the female lays 700 hundred eggs in a flat mass that soon hardens, attached to exposed twigs, houses, or any other place above ground. This strong egg case is built to survive the cold harsh weather of winter. They hatch almost simultaneously in the late spring. Nymphs are similar to the adults, but wingless and light yellow color. Most of them die before their first molt, eaten by predators, such as birds, snakes, or even their own kind. One generation matures in late summer or early autumn.