''Idolomantis'' is a

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

praying mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

es in the family

Empusidae Empusidae is a family of plant-mimicking mantisesSvenson, Gavin J., et al. "Of flowers and twigs: phylogenetic revision of the plant‐mimicking praying mantises (Mantodea: Empusidae and Hymenopodidae) with a new suprageneric classification." Sys ...

. It contains the single

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, ''Idolomantis diabolica'', commonly known as the devil's flower mantis or giant devil's flower mantis. It is one of the largest

es, and is possibly the largest that

mimics Materialise Mimics is an image processing software for 3D design and modeling, developed by Materialise NV, a Belgian company specialized in additive manufacturing software and technology for medical, dental and additive manufacturing industries ...

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

Description

''Idolomantis diabolica'' is a large mantis of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. Females grow to be about in length and males to about . It is native to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

, and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. Its

threat display Deimatic behaviour or startle display means any pattern of bluffing behaviour in an animal that lacks strong defences, such as suddenly displaying conspicuous eyespots, to scare off or momentarily distract a predator, thus giving the prey anima ...

is magnificently colored, with red, white, blue, purple, and black.

Anatomy

The basic anatomical structure of ''I. diabolica'' is similar to most species of the order

Mantodea Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

, but the morphology of each species varies according to its native habitat, and this species is modified somewhat to enhance its floral mimicry.

Head

The head of ''I. diabolica'' contains three vital components:

compound eyes A compound eye is a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells which distin ...

, antennae, and

mandibles In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

. The compound eyes, composed of thousands of individual photoreceptor cells, enable good eyesight. The arrangement of photoreceptor units, for instance, allows the insect to capture a perceptual span of 180°. This allows ''I. diabolica'' to identify prey and predators without increasing its vulnerability by spoiling its camouflage. The antennae, a pair of long and thin bristles, serve as the insect's sensory perception. Projecting outwards, the antennae can detect much in the surrounding environment such as chemicals, movement, and odors. The male antennae are more developed than those of the females and are feather-like. This allows them to track down females by detecting the pheromones released by the females. These pheromones notify the males that the females are ready to reproduce. The mandibles can be used to "tear, puncture, or grind" food.

Thorax

The

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

constitutes a large portion of the insect's body. As in all insects, it is composed of three segments: the

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ea ...

mesothorax The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the thorax of hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (dorsal), the mesosternum (ventral), and the mesopleuron (lateral) on ...

, and

metathorax The metathorax is the posterior of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the third pair of legs. Its principal sclerites ( exoskeletal plates) are the metanotum (dorsal), the metasternum (ventral), and the metapleuron (lateral) ...

. Each section "contains one pair of legs, however, the wings are found only on the mesothoracic and metathoracic segments."

Abdomen

Reproductive organs, respiratory organs, and other organ systems occupy the abdominal region of the insect.

Behaviour

Defensive behaviour

When confronted by a predator, ''I. diabolica'' initiates a

deimatic Deimatic behaviour or startle display means any pattern of bluffing behaviour in an animal that lacks strong defences, such as suddenly displaying conspicuous eyespots, to scare off or momentarily distract a predator, thus giving the prey anim ...

display in an attempt "to scare off or momentarily distract a predator". Its front legs, specifically the

femora The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...

, are raised to expose the conspicuous patterns depicted on the bottom of the thorax and abdomen. Similarly, the wings display a combination of vibrant colours. Observational analysis of ''I. diabolica'' in captive settings revealed an additional tactic of shifting its wings left to right to startle and confuse predators.

Predatory behaviour

In the presence of prey, ''I. diabolica'', impersonating a flower, remains motionless. Its objective is to seduce the insect into its striking zone. In this zone, ''Idolomantis diabolica'' uses the

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...

e of its legs to grasp and maintain a strong grip on the prey. The mandibles are then "wielded as formidable weapons" to decapitate and devour the prey. The dietary preference of ''I. diabolica'' is exclusively airborne insects, specifically flies, moths, butterflies and beetles.

Reproduction

Copulation

Before reproducing, mature females display dimorphic features in an attempt to attract males. Females lower the tips of their abdomens and raise their wings slightly to expose more of the uppermost side of the abdomen, thus releasing

pheromone A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

to attract a mate. However, sexual cannibalism is prominent among pairs of ''I. diabolica'' that remain in captivity. Due to their precautious nature, intrusive environments lead to aggressive behaviour. For example, a female, in the process of copulating, adopts predatorial instincts, which often conclude with the female devouring the head of the male.

Nymphs

A female deposits some 10 to 50 eggs in an

ootheca An ootheca (pl. ''oothecae'' ) is a type of egg mass made by any member of a variety of species including mollusks (such as ''Turbinella laevigata''), mantises, and cockroaches. The word is a Latinized combination of ''oo-'', meaning "egg", f ...

. The period between egg-laying and hatching varies according to temperature and humidity, but about fifty days would be typical. After hatching, the

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

feed on small insects such as houseflies and fruit flies. Males develop into adults after undergoing

ecdysis Ecdysis is the moulting of the cuticle in many invertebrates of the clade Ecdysozoa. Since the cuticle of these animals typically forms a largely inelastic exoskeleton, it is shed during growth and a new, larger covering is formed. The remna ...

about seven times into successive

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s, while females mature after about eight instars. The lifespan of ''I. diabolica'' varies according to the habitat, but is typically about 12 months.

Pet industry

Due to its beauty and dramatic displays, ''I. diabolica'' is considered a prestigious pet. Consumers, specifically in the Western Hemisphere, purchase thousands on a yearly basis.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q29739404, from2=Q2407018 Empusidae Insects described in 1869 Mantodea of Africa Taxa named by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure Monotypic insect genera Mantodea genera