The American born Chinese Mantis! (Tenodera sinensis)

This week we look at the Chinese mantis, how they got to America, what they do in the wild, and facts on how to care for one yourself! 

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Transcript:

 

Welcome back guys to episode 44 of Insects for Fun! This week I realized we had another listener submission that was hidden in an apple podcast review! So today we will be talking about a well known insect for a family in the Heartland! 

 

Intro: 

 

The Chinese mantis scientifically known as Tenodera sinensis is a very large mantid native to Asia, but! This one can also be found within the United States which I briefly mentioned in episode 3 of this podcast. Today we’re gonna really look at and learn all about this specific species including how it got into the US.

It all started back in 1896 when a plant nursery worker in Mt. Airy Pennsylvania accidentally released the Chinese mantids into the nursery. Now how exactly they even got the Chinese mantis I’m not sure, but it’s believed that they came in a shipment of plants from China. Some sources online say this was actually purposeful but I genuinely believe this one was not intentional because not long after the European mantis was introduced to help control pest insect populations. 

This chinese mantis is actually the largest mantis species within the US  reaching a max length up to 5 inches, but most commonly are seen around 11 cm or 4 inches. They are often a mix of brown and green, but individuals can be entirely green or light brown as well. These similar to others are sexually dimorphic with the males being incredibly slim and the females having a wider body. Some people actually confuse the males with stick insects, but you guys wouldn’t do that… right?    

 

Life Cycle, and food source: 

 

The life cycle for a chinese mantis begins like all mantises with something referred to as an ootheca. This is a large egg case which females can spend between 1 to 5 hours laying depending on the size. 

Some of you might be thinking the process is similar to chickens laying an egg, but that giant mass is not pushed out like childbirth or the eggs of birds and reptiles. This mass is produced carefully the way a skilled employee fills a cone with a soft serve ice cream machine... Did I just ruin ice cream? Moving on! 

 

So we now have this hardened yet soft and fluffy looking egg case called an ootheca, and yes the chinese mantis ootheca does look strangely soft and fluffy compared to other species. Once the process is complete the eggs remain safe inside this casing for the duration of winter (if you live in a place with cold winters) and the young mantises hatch in spring. If the ootheca was laid in a warmer climate than you can expect eggs to hatch in around 10 to 15 days provided the weather is warm and relatively humid. 

 

It usually takes a full summer for these to reach adulthood but the growth rate is dependent on temperature and food availability. In the more southern ranges of its habitat the nymphs can reach adulthood by the end of July. 

 

A really interesting trait that's been documented in this specific species is the ability to lay fertile eggs without breeding. I’m not sure how common this is, but I do know it's been published, and some people on Reddit have also talked about this happening with their pet Chinese mantids. I also know as long as the female is well fed she can produce up to 7 ootheca in her life, and if she does mate with a male then his contribution will last for the rest of her life.

 

The Chinese mantis will feed on just about anything much like other mantids, and this of course includes hummingbirds. Actually, because this mantis is the largest in North America (for now)™ they are the most capable of hunting down larger vertebrate animals like lizards and birds. 

 

Behaviors: 

 

In general these insects are docile. Some sources might tell you they are aggressive, but aggression usually occurs in the females during mating season, and they are pretty content hanging out wherever there’s food. They won’t move around much unless they have to. That being said, they will eat each other if they are overcrowded or if limited food is available, so if you keep them as pets you should not have them together in one enclosure. 

The females are also pretty notorious for eating the males during or after mating, so if you have pet Chinese mantids and want to breed them it is highly recommended you keep the female very well fed prior to pairing them, and then immediately separate the male once they finish. 

 

Defenses and Predators: 

 

Okay let’s talk about predators because of course these insects have them just like anything else, and actually the predators include some larger sized animals of their prey, like birds for example! But there is one predator I did not discuss in my first episode on mantids, and that would be the Giant Asian Hornet. Yes, in the native range for the Chinese mantis these do indeed get killed by giant hornets, and here’s how. In late summer and early fall, the giant hornets begin searching for high-protein food sources. This usually results in coordinated attacks on honey bee hives as mentioned in episode 14 of this podcast, but! The wasps will also target other large and solitary insects like the Chinese mantis, and all it takes is one giant hornet to get the job done. She stings the mantis injecting a heavy dose of toxins and then proceeds to decapitate the mantis the same way they do for honeybees. Giant hornets use the bodies of these insects as food sources for their young. There was a video in 2020 showing a mantis killing a giant asian hornet, but the hornet was actually hit with an anesthetic before filming so uh… not exactly a fair fight. 

Lore: 

 

And speaking of fighting,

Did you know that there are actually two different styles of martial arts dedicated to the movements of the Chinese mantis? 

They are both referred to as praying mantis kung fu but have different origins. The first is Northern originating from the Shandong province, and the second is Southern coming from the Hakka people of southern China. Since their creations, there have been many branch-off styles commonly referred to as mantis boxing.  

 

Pet information:  

 

Before we end the episode if you would like to try raising a Chinese mantis for yourself it is totally possible to purchase these from online vendors or even find them for sale at plant nurseries. These mantids are commonly used as a natural form of biocontrol to keep unwanted insects out of your gardens, but it's kind of a double-edged sword because they’ll kill off both the good and the bad. 

 

If you choose to keep one in your home, some good practices would be to keep the temperature around 70 to 85F or 21 to 29C, but having the temp drop to 17C or around 60F at night isn’t a big deal. It’s only if the temperature stays within the low 60s or lower throughout the day that this becomes an issue. The enclosure also needs a light misting periodically so the mantis can drink from water droplets. The enclosure ideally would be 3 times the height and 2 times the length of the mantis with a ventilated/screen top or some other form of ventilation.