Mantodea

Definition

An order of predatory insects (class Insecta) comprising the mantises, characterized by greatly enlarged, spined forelegs modified as raptorial appendages for seizing prey, an elongated prothorax, triangular heads with large compound eyes on flexible necks, and an upright 'praying' posture when at rest. The order contains over 2,400 species in approximately 460 genera and 33 families, distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. Mantodeans are exclusively predatory as adults and nymphs, feeding on arthropods and, in larger species, small vertebrates.

Etymology

From Greek mantis (seer, prophet) + -odea (order suffix), alluding to the upright, apparently contemplative posture.

Example

Mantis religiosa, the European mantis, is a widespread Mantodea species introduced to North America as a biocontrol agent; its oothecae (egg cases) are often deposited on woody stems and can survive temperate winters.

Synonyms

• Manteodea
• Mantoidea

Related Terms

• Raptorial
• Ootheca
• tegmina
• Neoptera
• Dictyoptera
• Mantidae
• Empusidae
• Hymenopodidae

Usage Notes

Mantodea is treated as plural in formal taxonomic usage (the order Mantodea), though individual species are referred to as 'a mantodean' or simply 'a mantis.' The common name 'praying mantis' is often applied to the entire order, though it technically refers most precisely to species in family Mantidae; 'mantid' is sometimes used as a broader vernacular equivalent. Formerly grouped with cockroaches and termites in superorder Dictyoptera or order Dictyoptera in older classifications, though modern phylogenomic studies increasingly support their separation as distinct orders.