Stick mantis
Tenodera superstitiosa
The stick mantis is a long, thin praying mantis from West Africa. It holds its spiky front legs folded, as if it is praying. When an insect comes close, it snaps them out fast to catch it.
Lives in
West Africa, from Mauritania and Guinea to Ghana and Cameroon
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. A big mantis may pinch a little if you hold it.
What does it eat?
Like other mantises, it hunts insects and grabs them with its spiky front legs.
How fast is it?
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Stick mantis about 1 km/h (0.62 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It lives in many West African countries, such as Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Cameroon.
2
It was first described in 1781 by Johan Christian Fabricius.
3
Scientists named two subspecies, but they are not sure the second one is really different.
you asked
Most asked questions about Stick mantis
?Where does the stick mantis live?
In West Africa, in countries such as Guinea, Ghana and Cameroon.
?Is the stick mantis dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people, though it may give a little pinch if you hold it.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Tenodera superstitiosa
- Named by
- Fabricius, 1781
- Group
- Mantises
- Family
- Mantidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Mantodea > Mantidae
- Lives on
- Africa
Where the facts come from
- Tenodera superstitiosa (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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