FNZ 19 - Mantodea (Insecta) - New Zealand's mantids
Ramsay, GW 1990. Mantodea (Insecta), with a review of aspects of functional morphology and biology. Fauna of New Zealand 19, 96 pages.
(
ISSN 0111-5383 (print),
;
no.
19.
ISBN 0-477-02581-1 (print),
).
Published 13 Jun 1990
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/9BB875C2-A2DF-4BCE-9CAF-985FFC0FCAB2
New Zealand's mantids
The New Zealand mantid fauna comprises two species only, one of them widespread and established probably long before human settlement, and the other a very recent introduction from South Africa with a restricted but expanding distribution in the north. The former, commonly known as 'praying mantis' (Orthodera), was among the insects described from this country during the early days of settlement by Europeans. An ootheca collected by Dr Andrew Sinclair during 1841 at the Bay of Islands or Auckland or possibly on Great Barrier Island is mentioned by White & Doubleday (1843) and referred to by White (1845-1874). It is still in the British Museum (Natural History) collections, in London. Taylor (1855) stated that the mantis abounds, but may have been confusing phasmids with mantids.
The first nymphs and adults to be reported on were collected at Scinde Island (now Bluff Hill), Napier in 1878-79 and described by Colenso (1882). There was thus a gap of nearly 40 years from the time this species was first found in New Zealand until it was formally named. Potts (1884) found mantids in Canterbury in 1880, and Hutton (1897) stated that he had found them at Clyde in 1873-74. Hutton (in Potts 1884) had sent an adult female specimen to Wood-Mason - a world authority on Mantodea at that time - in Calcutta several years, prior to 1883. Although Wood-Mason (1889a) identified it as Orthodera ministralis (Fabricius), he did in fact distinguish the New Zealand specimen from its Australian counterpart on morphological grounds (less dense reticulation of the forewing). O. ministralis is the name by which this taxon has been known in New Zealand ever since.
Elsewhere it has been regarded as a distinct species - Colenso's O. novaezealandiae - by such authorities as Giglio-Tos (1927) and Beier (1935b). Even though morphologically O. noveazealandiae lies within the range of variation of O. ministralis, it is regarded as being distinct for the following reasons. The New Zealand population is relatively constant in its morphological features, whereas the Australian one is quite variable, and possibly comprises several taxa. Secondly, the New Zealand population is geographically isolated. Thirdly, the nominal separation is a convenient means of keeping information about the two populations distinct and conveniently accessible.
A single specimen of a second species was collected at Auckland some time before 1870 and described by Saussure ( 870) as Tenodera intermedia. It is a large species (about 75 mm long), and has not been found again in this country. Probably it was a vagrant carried here by ship from northem Australia or New Guinea, where it occurs today. A third species, Tenodera australasiae, has been listed several times as occurrmg m New Zealand, but this is incorrect, and results from repetition of a mistaken record of Kirby (1904).
A fourth species, Miomantis caffra Saussure, known as the springbok mantis, was discovered in suburban Auckland in 1978. It was most likely introduced accidentally as a fertile ootheca on imported plants. It is now well established and expanding its area of distribution; it may even be displacing O. novaezealandiae, as Tenodera sinensis is possibly doing to Stagmomantis carolina in North America (Hurd 1985). M. caffra oothecae contain many more eggs than do those of O. novaezealandiae, and the emergence period is extended, so that predation on newly hatched nymphs is probably less severe and the chance of some of them encountering favourable conditions is greater. Also, the life cycle is not so rigidly seasonal - nymphs emerge unseasonably, and adult females survive the winter more frequently than is the case with O. novaezealandiae. On the other hand there may be some ecological separation, in that M. caffra tends to favour rank grass and weedy areas as well as shrubs and to hide beneath foliage, etc. (the abdomen of nymphs is curved), whereas O. novaezealandiae prefers shrubs and utilises the upper surfaces of foliage (abdomen of nymphs straight), often aligning itself to the sun.
Although by no means exhaustive, there is a certain amount of information available about the biology and distribution of mantids in New Zealand, not all of which is touched upon in this contribution. Three university degree projects have been produced, one of which has resulted in a publication; there is otherwise little biological information available:
- Ward (1969), "Aspects of reproduction in Orthodera ministralis", in which courtship, copulation, and other aspects of sexual behaviour such as the effect of light, time of day, influence of vision, and recognition of the sexes were studied. Oviposition, egg development, morphology of of the female reproductive system, biochemistry of the ootheca, and the spermatophore are described also.
- Suckling (1978), "Laboratory studies of the praying mantid Orthodera ministralis (Fabricius)", in which predation, population density, shelter, availability of food, cannibalism, effect of temperature and humidity on the survival of immature stages, life history, and sexual dimorphism were studied.
- Craven (1982), "Pre-strike tactics and visual mediation in a praying mantis (Orthodera ministralis)". The effect of environmental factors such as light, background, and surroundings, and such aspects of behaviour as response to lures, distance from prey, approach to prey, movement and removal of prey, visual occlusion, and response to stimuli were studied. Also, the anatomy and functional organisation of the eye and the role of the eyes in mediating predatory behaviour were described or discussed.
The cytology of O. novaezealandiae has not been investigated, but White (1962, 1965) has studied the chromosomes of males of two species of Orthodera, including O. gunnii. The karyotype is distinguished by the large size of the equal arms of the Y chromosome. The New Zealand species is probably similar.
The most recent accounts of New Zealand mantid biology and ecology are those of Crosby (1984), Suckling (1984), and Castle (1988). Much remains to be discovered about praying mantids, especially the species present in New Zealand. They are fascinating insects to keep as pets, and are easy to rear (Meadows 1979, Heath 1980). Perhaps this study may stimulate further investigation.