Subject: Mantis from Namibia
Location: Namibia
December 16, 2013 8:06 am
Oh yeah, I almost forgot this one.
Not one of the best photos, due to the dark. Unfortunately, I got only one shot.
I guess this is a curled up mantis-like creature. I like the horns next to the eyes.
Signature: Robert
Double-Coned Grass Mantid from Namibia
Hi Robert,
We have been trying to determine the identity of your Mantis, and because of the unusual horned eyes, we suspect it might be in the genus Heterochaeta which is profiled on the USAMantis site. Alan’s Arthropods also contains some images that show similar eyes as well as indicating that Heterochaeta occidentalis is found in “Botswana , Kenya, Namibia and South Africa”.
Update: January 11, 2014
Dracus supplied a comment identifying this as Episcopomantis chalybea, and we found a link to a drawing on Tree of Life that supports that ID. There is an image of a Namibian female on World of Mantids. A beautiful portrait by Piotr Naskrecki, who frequently assists us with Katydid identifications, can be found on National Geographic Creative, and it includes the common name Double-Coned Grass Mantid.
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It is Episcopomantis chalybea, close relative of the mediterranean mantis Iris oratoria.
Distributed from South to Central Africa.
Thanks for the correction. We will search for an online link.