Conehead mantis

Description

Empusa pennata, or the conehead mantis, is a species of praying mantis in genus Empusa native to the Mediterranean Region. It can be found in Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and on the mediterranean coasts of Morocco, Algeria, Rhodes island - Greece, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Because of its fragmented, low density populations, it is very rarely found in nature. Empusa pennata generally has large and thin body along with a great flying apparatus by their pair of wings and light body mass. Also, they are mostly found in perennial herbs and scrubs. There are three ways for insects to find mates: chemical, acoustic, and visual signals. Cryptic coloration is significant to some predatory insects like Mantids, which is used to protect themselves from predators and to capture their prey. This species of mantis, although similar in size to the common European mantis (Mantis religiosa), is easily distinguished by the protrusion from its crown. Both male and females, even from first hatching carry this tall extension giving them a very alien appearance. They live in areas that are warm and dry and use their cryptic colouring of either greens and pinks or various shades of brown to keep them hidden from predators. The female may grow to a length of 10 cm while the male is shorter and slimmer. The male has distinctive ‘feather’ type antennae. It overwinters as a nymph and reaches the adult stage by spring. Its eggs have a fast development, especially in the summer months.