The burying mantis (''Sphodropoda tristis'') is a species of
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 ...
native to Australia. They are grey/brown or green, frequently with mottled patterning on the wings, and a have distinctive pale tubercles on the forelegs.
Both sexes can reach lengths of up to 70 mm long. Their common name comes from the behaviour of females, which infrequently bury their
oothecae
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", ...
underground.
See also
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Mantodea of Oceania
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 ...
*
List of mantis genera and species
The following list of mantis genera and species is based on the "Mantodea Species File", which is the primary reference for the taxonomy shown here.
The insect Order (biology), order Mantodea consists of over 2,400 species of mantises in about 460 ...
References
Mantodea
Mantodea of Oceania
Insects of Australia
Insects described in 1871
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