Grass mantis is a
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 ...
mostly given to various species 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 ...
that
mimic
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. In the simples ...
grass
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
or other slender
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...
. Species to which this name has been applied include but are not limited to:
*''
Glabromantis mexicana'' (Mexican grass mantis)
*''
Odontomantis planiceps'' (grass mantis)
*''
Oxyothespis dumonti'' (African grass mantis)
*''
Thesprotia graminis'' (American grass mantis)
*''
Schizocephala bicornis'' (Indian grass mantis)
See also
*
Dead leaf mantis
Dead leaf mantis is a common name given to various species of praying mantis that mimicry, mimic dead leaf, leaves. It is most often used in reference to species within genus ''Deroplatys'' because of their popularity as exotic pets. Examples i ...
*
Flower mantis
Flower mantises are praying mantises that use a special form of camouflage referred to as aggressive mimicry, which they not only use to attract prey, but avoid predators as well. These insects have specific colorations and behaviors that mimic ...
*
Stick mantis
*
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
Mantodea
Insect common names
{{Mantodea-stub