Giant Asian mantis (Hierodula patellifera)

Giant Asian mantis (Hierodula patellifera) is an animal species in the Mantidae, winged praying mantis with females 65-75 mm long and males 45-65 mm long, large but not the largest in the genus Hierodula, generally have variants including green, yellow and brown.

H. patellifera has a fully rotating head. The head is dominated by a pair of very large and green eyes. The jaw forms a triangle. The back is very wide with thickened margins. A pair of long antennas.

Wide wings with rounded tips, striped surface, thick margins, two large white plots on the right and left. The belly is large and jointed, curved downward, the upper part is completely covered by the wings, but partially visible from the side.

The pair of forelegs are large and have three segments. The upper segment has 2-3 large spines on the front and is whitish in color. The middle segment has a row of many spines on the back and a black or white tip. The third segment has a row of many spines, long, black or white tips and tipped with a long palm.

The middle pair of legs has three long segments and the last segment ends with small spikes. A pair of hind legs has several segments. Giant Asian mantis live in forests, rice fields and house yards. They perched on a branch about 1 meter above the ground.

H. patellifera is a carnivore that predominantly preys on small insects including crickets, butterflies, bees, but also large vertebrate animals including snakes, mice, lizards, frogs and small birds. This species is more stationary with moving its front legs to wait for opportunities and ambush prey suddenly.

The female produces an ootheca that contains up to 300 eggs and is protected in a foam bag to hatch over the next five months. Some hatch in small intervals and it takes up to five weeks before larvae fully emerge.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Mantodea
Suborder: Eumantodea
Infraorder: Schizomantodea
Superfamily: Mantoidea
Family: Mantidae
Subfamily: Hierodulinae
Tribe: Hierodulini
Genus: Hierodula
Species: Hierodula patellifera

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