''Chloroharpax'' is a genus 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 and tropical habitats. They hav ...
in the family
Hymenopodidae
Hymenopodidae is a family of the order Mantodea (mantises), which contains six subfamilies. Some of the species in this family mimic flowers and are found camouflaged among them; these are called flower mantises. Their coloration is aggre ...
. The genus is monotypic, being represented by a single species, ''Chloroharpax modesta'', commonly called the Nigerian flower mantis, and is found across West Africa.
Description
Both males and females are about 3-4 centimeters in length when adult while 1st
instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow o ...
nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
are about 4-5 millimeters in length. The adults are bright green with rounded blue eyes; adult females have a pair yellow ocellated eyespots on their wings.
The species is able to hunt prey larger than itself, attacking and chasing its prey.
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]
Range
Ivory Coast, Guinea, Ghana, Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Cameroon.
Captivity
''Chloroharpax modesta'' are kept in captivity. This species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
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 ...
are cannibalistic.
See also
*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
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q5103082, from2=Q5103085
Hymenopodidae
Mantodea genera
Mantodea of Africa
Insects described in 1883
Monotypic insect genera