Giant Devil's Flower Mantis (Idolomantis Diabolica) - Google Arts & Culture (2024)

Expeditions – Giant Devil's Flower Mantis (Idolomantis Diabolica) by Raiz Media

Starting Life Small

In the wilds of Tanzania, East Africa lives one of the largest mantis species in the world. The Giant Devil's Flower Mantis (Idolomantis diabolica) starts life small but this impressive species blooms into massive, colorful adults.

This nymph is only the first of many, as the large oothecae (egg mass) of this species can produce over 100 nymphs. He's orange now but as the exoskeleton hardens it will become black and glossy like an ant.

Size

Even the young of the Giant Devil's Flower Mantis are much larger than those of other mantid species. While other nymphs are limited to prey as small as fruit flies and gnats, these little giants are capable of taking down prey as large as a blue bottle fly within days of hatching.

Numbers

Many insects produce large numbers of young because most will not survive to adulthood. Harsh environmental conditions, limited prey, cannibalism and predation take their toll on the young. Large numbers assure that there will be enough adults at the end of the season to reproduce and sustain the species.

Ootheca

The eggs are encased in a protective mass of protein whipped into foam, and meticulously laid in place by special appendages on the mother mantid's abdomen. As she lays each egg these appendages work to introduce air into the excreted liquid protein to act as padding. When the protein dries it hardens into a case that will protect the delicate eggs from the outside world.

Black

It's not uncommon for very young nymphs of many insect species to be black. This is often a survival tactic. By mimicking the appearance of ants they will be ignored by most predators.

10 Days Later

After about 10 days the nymphs shed their shiny black skin and become creamy white with a purple head and green stripe at the base of the thorax. They will have fed on as many flying insects as they could gather over that time. They need all the food they can get to build up their body before this taxing event.

Each nymph will climb lower into the tree to find a secluded spot to molt. They are vulnerable before, during, and directly after a molt because the exoskeleton becomes very soft. It's a necessary danger all invertebrates must face in order to grow.

Flying Prey

Giant Devil's Flower Mantids prefer flying prey. Their lightning fast reflexes allow them to grab flies right out of the air. While tracking motion and judging distance with their superior vision they launch their raptorial claws at moving prey with amazing accuracy.

Isolation

Since the nymph becomes soft and helpless during this process its instinct is to move lower, away from its siblings, to avoid being cannibalized. Although generally not cannibalistic they are opportunistic and prone to cannibalism if a sibling appears to be easy prey.

Molting

Because an insect's skeleton is on the outside it must be shed so their body can grow. This will happen 7 or 8 times before the Giant Devil's Flower Mantis becomes adult. Each time it grows larger and partially regenerates any lost or damaged limbs.

Empusidae

After successive molts the nymph becomes tan, sometimes with a touch of rusty orange, while retaining the green stripe at the base of the thorax. Like all mantids in the Empusidae family, the nymphs develop decorative flourishes on legs and abdomen, and a crown-like projection on the head.

The raptorial arms of this species are disproportionally wide and feature long sharp spikes for keeping prey in their grasp. Although we can't see it from this angle, the shield on their back (or pronotum) becomes progressively wider with each molt.

Raptorial Arms

The wide raptorial arms of this species are one of the most obvious physical features separating them from the common mantis. Visually they imply danger with their impressive, long spikes, but in actuality are relatively harmless to anything other than the insects they prey upon.

Abdominal Fins

There is very little visual difference between the sexes at this stage, but if you look very closely you will see fins projecting from the underside of the abdominal segments. Females only show 5 fins, while males show a tiny 6th fin on the next-to-last abdominal segment.

Empusidae

Family Empusidae includes a number of impressive mantis species, all of which feature unique physical traits that differentiate them from the common mantid form. For this reason some of the most exotic and visually compelling species belong to this family. As you will see, the adult form of the Giant Devil's Flower Mantis, specifically, is quite beautiful and unique.

Wide Shield

Here we see a subadult male. He now stands a full 3 inches (7.6 cm) tall, but females of the species are even larger. Take note of the wide shield on his back (pronotum). At this stage the antennae are very thick because inside they are developing into the feathery sense organs he'll have as an adult.

His wing buds are also much larger as they prepare to become fully functional wings. There will be many other changes accompanying his transition to adult.

Antennae

This male will become adult after his next molt. The thick antennae are a sure indication of his sex. Unlike species outside family Empusidae, adult males possess feathery antennae similar to a moth. Right now those sensitive organs are forming inside the antennae just waiting to uncoil after molt.

Wide Pronontum

The broad shield of the Giant Devil's Flower Mantis is another of its visually striking traits. Most other mantid species with a prominent pronotum feature shapes intended to mimic leaves as a form of camouflage. In the case of the Giant Devil's Flower Mantis the intention appears to be exaggeration of size.

Eyes

Mantids possess a total of 5 eyes. Between the 2 large compound eyes, there are 3 simple eyes (or ocelli). The compound eyes give the mantis depth perception allowing them to judge distance and accurately strike at prey, while it is thought the simple eyes detect light levels and assist in flight stabilization. The simple eyes are more developed in males because as adults they depend on flight to find a mate.

Final Form

At long last the final form of the Giant Devil's Flower Mantis is revealed! He's showing his impressive threat display intended to scare off predators. He certainly looks dangerous with those flashy colors and sharp spikes.

To add to this impression he produces a clicking sound as he lurches forward to strike at his enemy. Take note of the vivid colors and patterns that give the adult Giant Devil's Flower Mantis its name.

Sound

As the mantis lurches toward the enemy, it rubs a rear leg over hard ridges on the underside of the wing creating a sharp series of clicks, while simultaneously forcing air from its body to produce a hissing sound. All of this is purely bluff but the combination of visuals, sound and motion is very effective.

Antennae

His feathery antennae are powerful sense organs used to locate a mate. Females, which are too heavy to fly, release chemicals called pheromones. His large antennae are designed to smell pheromones and help to guide him to their source.

Reproduction

This male will only live a short time as an adult so it is vital he finds a mate. Using his antennae as a guide he will fly to her and, together, produce the next generation of Giant Devil's Flower Mantis.

Size Exaggeration

Part of the threat display (or deimatic behavior) is to exaggerate size. We can now see the advantage of the wide raptorial claws and shield. The mantid also splays his wings at an angle reflecting that of his claws to further enhance the illusion.