Burying mantis

Sphodropoda tristis
Sphodropoda tristis mating pair
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Superorder: Dictyoptera
Order: Mantodea
Family: Mantidae
Genus: Sphodropoda
Species: S. tristis
Binomial name
Sphodropoda tristis
(Saussure, 1871)

The burying mantis (Sphodropoda tristis) is a species of mantid native to Australia. They are white or brown and can reach lengths of up to some 40mm long, with distinct markings on the thorax and with a white blotch on the wings. They're called burying mantids because females dig holes in the ground, in which they lay their eggs and then refill the holes.

Burying mantids are not aggressive, (unlike the large brown mantis); the female does not try to attack the male whilst mating but will kill and eat the male afterwards. The burying mantis can be found in abundance on the Southeast coast of Queensland.

See also


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/22/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.