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Sticker of Japanese boxer mantis
Bug card No. 2383 of 4,939

Japanese boxer mantis

Acromantis japonica

The Japanese boxer mantis is a praying mantis from East Asia. Like all mantises it holds its spiky front legs folded up, ready to grab. It sits very still and waits for a bug to come close.

Lives in
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China
Top speed
about 1 km/h (0.62 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It has no sting and is not dangerous to people.
What does it eat?
It catches insects with its spiky front legs, like other mantises.
For real!Photo of Japanese boxer mantis
Picture by Yasunori Koide. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It lives in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.

2

It was first described by the English scientist John Obadiah Westwood in 1889.

3

A mantis can turn its head to look over its shoulder, which most insects cannot do.

you asked

Most asked questions about Japanese boxer mantis

?Is the Japanese boxer mantis dangerous?

No. It is harmless to people.

?What does the Japanese boxer mantis eat?

Insects that it grabs with its spiky front legs.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Acromantis japonica
Named by
Westwood, 1889
Group
Mantises
Family
Hymenopodidae
Classification
Insecta > Mantodea > Hymenopodidae
Lives on
Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Acromantis japonica (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Yasunori Koide. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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