Chinese mantis

Brown sub-adult female Chinese mantis. The spot between the legs is yellow, compared with the orange of Tenodera angustipennis.

The Chinese mantis is a long, slender, brown and green praying mantis. It is typically longer than other praying mantis species, reaching just over 11 cm (4.3 in), and is the largest mantis species in North America (spread throughout the Northeast United States). Its color can vary from overall green to brown with a green lateral stripe on the borders of the front wings in the brown color form. In low light, the eyes of the mantis appear black, but in daylight appear to be clear, matching the color of the head. Chinese mantids look similar to another mantis species that has been introduced to the United States, the narrow-winged mantid (Tenodera angustipennis). Tenodera sinensis and Tenodera angustipennis are similar in appearance, however you can tell them apart by locating a spot in-between their front legs. If it is yellow then it is a Chinese mantis but if it is orange then it is a narrow-winged mantis. The female can produce several semi-spherical oothecae, roughly 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter, containing up to 300 eggs.[2] The oothecae are often affixed to vegetation such as bushes and small trees.

Tenodera sinensis ootheca

This mantis is native to China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Micronesia, and Thailand.[1] Populations of T. sinensis in Japan are sympatric with Tenodera aridifolia, the Japanese giant mantis, of which T. sinensis was formerly considered a subspecies.

Chinese mantises hatch in the spring, eat, grow, and molt through the summer, and lay eggs at the end of summer. When it gets too cold, they die, only living around a year long.[7] First instar nymphs that eat less take a longer time to molt to the next instar and are smaller at the second instar than first instar nymphs that have been fed more.[8]

Tenodera sinensis is a common pet for mantis enthusiasts, and oothecae can be purchased from plant nurseries across the US.[9]

The Chinese mantis is preyed on by other mantises, birds, and the Asian giant hornet in its native range.[10] The female mantis specifically preys on male mantises. She often kills and eats her male partner after mating, providing nutrition for her offspring[11] Sexual cannibalism is a strange phenomenon not yet completely understood by scientists.[12]

The European mantis (Mantis religiosa) and the Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) are both smaller mantises closely resembling the Chinese mantis.[13] The European mantis is anywhere from tan to green in color and about 7.5 cm (3 in) long.[14] The Carolina mantis, on the other hand, is only 6 cm (2.5 in) in length and varies more in color.[15]

There are two martial arts styles created to mimic the movements of the Chinese mantis. Developed in the Shandong province of China in the mid-1600s, Praying Mantis kung-fu is based on the quick movements and techniques of the Chinese mantis. An unrelated style of kung fu that was developed by the Hakka people in Southern China is known as Southern Praying Mantis.

Master Mantis, one of the supporting characters in the 2008 Dreamworks Animation film franchise Kung Fu Panda, is a Chinese mantis and one of the members of the Furious Five.

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  Adult male
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  Adult female
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  Adult at rest
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  Adult female Tenodera sinensis eating a long-horned grasshopper
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  Sub-adult female in hand

• List of mantis genera and species

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tenodera sinensis.

• Citizen science observations for Chinese mantis at iNaturalist