Brazilian Stick Mantis we believe

bugman

February 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 pm

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February 2, 2010
What kind of mantis is this?
I found this mantis(I presume) on the livingroom floor in Brasil. Can you tell me what kind it is?

Brazilian Stick Mantis

I’ve put it on a branch to take a beter picture without noticing that there was another mantis on it allready(I only found out when I looked at the pics on the computer). I hope they didn’t eat eachother…
Regards,
Pieter
Paracuru, Brasil

Brazilian Stick Mantis

Hi Pieter,
We are very happy we wrote back to you and were able to guide you into uploading your images. Upon viewing your photos, we were struck by the visual similarities to Brunner’s Mantis from Texas, an unusual species is a race of females that reproduces parthenogenically, without the need for insemination by a male. The closest relatives are in South America. We believe this might be the Brazilian Stick Mantis, Brunneria brasiliensis, though we have no images to verify that identification. According to BugGuide, Brunner’s Mantis can be identified by: “distinctive fine serations along sides of thorax …. Thick antennal base characterizes this species. Wings reduced–flightless.“ Your specimen appears to have the fine serrations along the thorax, and the wings are similar to the Brunner’s Mantis images on BugGuide. The EyePlorer website indicates “Brunneria brasiliensis, common name Brazilian Stick Mantis, is a species of praying mantis found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay” but credits Wikipedia with the information. Perhaps one of our readers will be able to confirm this information and identification.