Carolina Mantis

Stagmomantis carolina — the Carolina mantis — is the only NATIVE mantis species in eastern North America and one of the most-studied native mantis species in NA biology. The species is widespread across the southeastern and central US from southern New York south through the eastern US to northern Florida and west to Texas. Adults are 5-6 cm body length (females larger than males), green or brown to gray (color-polymorphic, with the color form fixed at the final molt and influenced by background coloration during nymph development). The species is the OFFICIAL STATE INSECT of South Carolina. The species is dramatically smaller than the introduced mantises commonly seen in NA gardens — Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis, introduced in 1896 in PA) reaches 9-10 cm, European mantis (Mantis religiosa, introduced in 1899 in NY) reaches 7-8 cm, both substantially larger than the native Carolina mantis. The introduced mantises have largely outcompeted Carolina mantises in many regions of the eastern US — Carolina mantis populations have declined in suburban and agricultural habitats where Chinese and European mantises have established. The species is one of the most-cited examples of SEXUAL CANNIBALISM in arthropod biology. During mating, females sometimes EAT MALES — beginning by biting off the male's head, then consuming additional body parts during or after copulation. The cannibalism rate varies dramatically with female hunger state: well-fed females rarely cannibalize males (5-10% of matings), while hungry females cannibalize males in 30-50% of mating attempts. Documented cases show that DECAPITATED MALES CONTINUE TO COPULATE SUCCESSFULLY even after the head has been removed by the female — the male's mating reflex is controlled by neural ganglia in the abdomen, not the head, so the headless male completes the mating sequence and successfully transfers sperm before being fully consumed. The sexual cannibalism behavior is one of the most-cited examples in arthropod sexual selection biology and has been the subject of decades of evolutionary research. Females lay eggs in distinctive 'OOTHECAE' — foam-encased egg cases the size of a walnut, attached to twigs and walls in autumn, that overwinter and hatch in spring as 100-300 nymphs per ootheca. The species is one of the most beneficial generalist predators in eastern NA gardens — adults capture and eat aphids, leafhoppers, flies, small beetles, and even other arthropod predators. The species is harmless to humans (no venom, no significant bite).