''Brunneria borealis'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
Brunner's mantis, Brunner's stick mantis, or northern grass mantis, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
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 ...
native to the southern United States. It is the only mantis species known to reproduce solely through
parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...
; there are no males.
Description
''Brunneria borealis'' is an elongated green insect with the typical raptorial forelimbs of a mantis. The adults have reduced-size wings and are probably unable to fly. They can grow to a length of about .
[
]
Distribution and habitat
''B. borealis'' is native to the southern United States, from the Atlantic Ocean as far west as Texas where it occurs in Bell County, Brazos County, Comanche County, Erath County, Montgomery County, Tarrant County, and Parker County probably as separate local populations.[ It has been recorded in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. At ]Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
it was found on flowerheads of the slender aster (''Symphyotrichum subulatum''.[
]
Biology
This mantis does not breed sexually and the adults, which are all female, lay their eggs without the involvement of a male. The clutch of eggs is protected by an ootheca or egg-case. In most mantis species, each mantis nymph emerges from its own hole in the egg-case, but in this species, one of the ootheca is drawn out into a point and all the nymphs emerge through this. The nymphs are similar to the adults in appearance and go through a series of moults as they grow.grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grassh ...
s.[ This species also enjoys eating grass dwelling phasmatodea, which are often slender instead of robust and have few defenses against the mantises. When disturbed, it will sway or stiffen much like a stick insect.
]
See also
* List of mantis genera and species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4979094
B
Mantodea of North America
Endemic insects of the United States
Fauna of the Southeastern United States
Insects described in 1896
Taxa named by Samuel Hubbard Scudder