Chinese Mantis

The Chinese mantis, Tenedera sinensis. Click to enlarge. 

The Chinese mantis is remarkably easy to overlook for an insect that is five inches long. This one was blending in among leaves and flowers along a fence on Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The mantis is a predator that sits quietly waiting until its (mainly) insect prey is within striking distance; prey can be almost any kind of fly, bee, spider, moth, or similar thing. It quickly grabs the victim with its spiked forelegs, impaling and holding it, and then eats with a mouth that cuts and tears.

The Chinese mantis is native to Asia. It was accidentally introduced to the United States in the late 1800s and spread. Gardeners now deliberately release them for biological control of plant pests and Chinese mantises are kept as pets. They consequently can be found in the wild throughout the the country.

This is one of a few kind of mantises that you might encounter. I wrote previously about a Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) that I also saw in Brooklyn Bridge Park -- in the same spot! You can see that blog and compare the two mantises by clicking on this sentence.

It seems that Brooklyn Bridge Park is a good place to find mantises. I'll bet it is because of the variety of tasty prey that results from the thoughtfully chosen plantings. Look for mantises near blooming flowers by the Pier 1 section of fence that borders the wide gravel road on the eastern side of the park.

The surface of the mantis' wing case looks deceptively like a dry leaf. 

If you don't know it's there it is easy to overlook. 

But when you get up close, you'll find it is watching you.