Running-predator
Guides
Yersiniops
Grasshopper Mantises
Yersiniops is a genus of ground-dwelling mantids native to the Americas, distinguished by their cursorial hunting strategy of actively running down prey rather than ambushing from vegetation. The genus is characterized by pointed, 'horned' eyes and predominantly gray coloration. Two species, Y. solitarius and Y. sophronicus, occur in the United States, where they inhabit arid western regions. These small mantids represent one of two ground mantid genera in North America, alongside Litaneutria.