Mantis Terms A-Z

The Mantis Dictionary:

 

Abdomen: The region of an insect's body which is composed of many similar segments (11 in mantises, but only 6 to 8 are visible.) It contains organs for digestion, reproduction, and more.

Aedeagus - pl. Aedeagi: The reproductive organ of a male insect.

Antenna - pl. Antennae: Paired thin, mobile sensory organs on an insect's head. The antennae sense smell, touch, and air movements.

Brachypterous: The condition of having short wings.

Calling: When a female mantis releases sex pheromones to attract a mate. Involves curving the abdomen ventrally, opening the tip, and pulsing.

Cercus - pl. Cerci: Paired fingerlike sensory organs at the end of the abdomen. They primarily sense touch and air movements.

Compound Eye: Eyes made up of thousands of tiny units (ommatidia) which produce a mosaic image.

Costa: The leading edge of the forewing, separated from the densely-veined rest of the wing by the costal vein. In mantises, often textured and colored differently.

Coxa - pl. Coxae: The leg segment which connects to the thorax. In mantises, the forecoxae are long, flattened, and may be toothed, while the mid- and hindcoxae are cone-shaped.

Crop: An expandable sac of the insect digestive system which stores food soon after ingestion.

Deimatic Display: A performance by a relatively harmless animal to startle and deter predators.

Dimorphic: Describes a species which displays two distinct forms. In mantises this is generally Sexual Dimorphism, in which the male and female look different.

Discoidal Spine: One of the movable spines in the center of the mantis's forefemur. Typically 3 or 4.

Euplantula - pl. Euplantulae: Flexible, sometimes adhesive pads on an insect's foot (tarsus.)

Exoskeleton: The protective outer shell of the insect body. It may be hardened (sclerotized) or flexible. It is composed of multiple layers, including chitin, wax, and a variety of proteins.

Exuvium - pl. Exuviae: The cast-off exoskeleton after a molt.

Femoral Brush: A set of fine hairs (setae) near the femur/tibia joint, used for grooming. One of the defining characters of mantises.

Femur - pl. Femora: The third leg segment from the body, coming from the trochanter and connecting to the tibia. The longest and most robust leg segment in most mantises.

Ganglion - pl. Ganglia: One of the nerve clusters spread throughout the insect body, which coordinate behavior. In the head, the cerebral ganglion is the brain.

Hemolymph: Cell-and-nutrient-rich fluid which fills the insect body. Similar in function to blood in vertebrates.

Instar: A numbered stage between molts. For example, and first-instar mantis has molted zero times, a fifth-instar has molted four times, and so on. Colloquially represented as #i or L#.

Introduced Species: A species which is not native to an environment, but has been brought there by humans.

Invasive Species: A species which is not native to an environment and causes ecological, economic, or other harm.

Labium - pl. Labia: The "lower lip" of an insect's mouth, bears two labial palps.

Labrum: The "upper lip" of an insect's mouth.

Macropterous: The condition of having long wings.

Mandible: Toothed, bladed mouthparts which move horizontally.

Metatarsus: The slender segment of the leg which connects the tibia to the tarsus.
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Molt - synonyms Shed, Ecdysis: The process through which insects grow larger. The insect breaks out of its old exoskeleton, then inflates and hardens a new one.

Naturalized Species: A nonnative species which becomes integrated into the food web of its environment, and reproduces and sustains itself independently.

Nymph: An immature insect which does not form. A pupa, and usually resembles a miniature adult.

Ocellus - pl. Ocelli: One of three tiny, round, light-sensing eyes on a mantis's head, just above the antennae.

Ootheca - pl. Oothecae: The mantis egg case, composed of the arranged eggs and a surrounding protein foam, which hardens to become protective. Ootheca appearance varies widely between species. Cockroaches also produce oothecae, but those are structured differently.

Ovipositor: The last segments of a female insect's abdomen, which are specialized for laying eggs. In mantises, they are shortened, trough-and-sickle-shaped, and act to shape the ootheca.

Palp: One of four thin, jointed appendages near the mouth which taste and manipulate food.

Pheromone: A chemical which transmits a signal between two individuals of the same species.

Pleural Membrane: The flexible tissue which connects an insect's segments. In mantises, the membranes of the abdomen may be boldly colored.

Polymorphic: Describes a species or trait which can vary considerably between individuals.

Presubadult - or "Presub:" A mantis which will be an adult after two more molts.

Pronotum - pl. Pronota: The hardened dorsal surface of the prothorax. Often expanded into a "shield."

Pseudopupil: A small dark spot in the mantis compound eye which moves depending on the angle - it represents those eye facets which are directly aligned with the viewer.

Raptorial Leg - or "Raptor:" A leg modified for grasping prey. In mantises, the forelegs.

Sclerite: A hardened plate of exoskeleton.

Segment: The divisions of the insect body, connected to each other by flexible membranes.

Seta - pl. Setae: Fine, hairlike projection from the exoskeleton. Typically senses touch, sometimes performs other functions.

Spermatophore: A package of sperm and sometimes nutrients delivered to a female during mating. It is often visible at the end of a female mantis's abdomen afterward.

Spiracle: One of the openings of the mantis's respiratory system. There are two spiracles on each visible abdominal segment, and four on the thorax.

Sternite: The hardened plate on the underside of a mantis's segment.

Subadult - or "sub:" A mantis which will be an adult after its next molt.

Subgenital Plate: The last abdominal sternite in a male mantis, usually flattened and scoop-like.

Tarsus - pl. tarsi: The padded "foot" at the end of the leg, composed of the tarsomeres and pretarsus (which bears two claws.)

Tegmen - pl. tegmina: The stiffened first pair of wings.

Tergite: The hardened plate on the top of a mantis's segment.

Thanatosis: The act of "playing dead."

Tibia - pl. tibiae: The fourth leg segment from the body, connecting the femur to the metatarsus. In mantises, the foretibiae have many comb-like spines and end in a long, hooked claw.

Thorax: The middle region of the insect body which bears the legs and wings. Divided into prothorax (attached to head,) mesothorax, and metathorax (attached to abdomen.)

Trachea: Respiratory tubes through which the insect breathes. The trachea form a complex network inside the body, and connect to the outside world at the spiracles.

Tracheoles: Very small respiratory tubes which bring oxygen from the trachea throughout the cells.

Trochanter: The second segment of the leg from the body, a small, angled segment which connects the coxa to the femur.

Venation: The organization of veins, as in the insect wing. Sometimes important for distinguishing species.

Ventral Nerve Cord: The insect analog to the vertebrate spinal cord; a line of connected ganglia which runs from the head through the abdomen.

Vermiform: "wormlike." In mantises, refers to the hatchling as it wriggles free from the ootheca, before it sheds the embryonic casing to reveal the legs.

Wingbud - synonym: Wing Pad: One of four flaps at the sides of the thorax, inside which the wings develop. Appear midway through development and increase in size and complexity as the mantis nears adulthood.