Gambian spotted-eye flower mantis
Adult female Pseudoharpax virescens on a finger
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Mantodea
Family: Galinthiadidae
Genus: Pseudoharpax
Species:
P. virescens
Binomial name
Pseudoharpax virescens
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms
  • Harpax (Creobroter) virescens Serville, 1839

Pseudoharpax virescens, common name Gambian spotted-eye flower mantis, is a species of praying mantis native to western, central and eastern Africa. It takes its name from two eye spots on the dorsal side of the abdomen of adult females.

Description

Nighttime eyes
Daytime eyes

Pseudoharpax virescens mimic flowers. They are mostly white with green wings and have pointy eyes. Pseudoharpax virescens are small for a mantis, around 3 centimeters in length as adults. 1st instar nymphs are almost 4 millimeters in length. The color of Pseudoharpax virescens eyes change night to day. At night their eyes are dark red, during the day their eyes are light green. Oothecae can be 5 millimeters to 15 millimeters long.

Sexual dimorphism

Females are usually about 28 millimeters in length, while males are usually about 25 millimeters. Females have short antennae, while males have long and red antennae. Females are bulkier than males. Eight segments can be counted on the underside of the abdomen of a male and six on that of the female.[2] Females have two dots on their abdomens as adults, while males, whose abdomens are thin and covered completely by their wings when looked at from above, appear to have none.

Adult male Pseudoharpax virescens have long and red antennae
Adult female Pseudoharpax virescens have short antennae. This female has one broken antenna.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies in this species.

  • P. v. centralis (La Greca, 1954) - found in central and eastern Africa
  • P. v. virescens (Serville, 1839) - found in western and central Africa

[3][4]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pseudoharpax virescens.
  1. ↑ Audinet Serville, Jean Guillaume. Histoire naturelle des insectes. Orthoptères. p. 162.
  2. ↑ "Praying Mantid caresheet - Amateur Entomologists' Society (AES)".
  3. ↑ "Species Pseudoharpax virescens". Mantodea Species File.
  4. ↑ Mantisresearch.com Literature La Greca
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