''Metallyticus fallax'' is a 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 and tropical habitats. They hav ...

found in Southeast Asia. It has an

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

appearance.
Texas A&M University It is very similar to ''

Metallyticus splendidus ''Metallyticus splendidus'' (informally known as the iridescent bark mantis) is a rare species of praying mantis found in Southeast Asia. It has an iridescent appearance. Description ''M. splendidus'' was originally described by J. O. Westwood ...

''.

Biology and Ecology

''Metallyticus fallax'' has several pleisomorphic morphological traits, such as its short

prothorax The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

and lack of discoidal spines. It has more

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

cervical

sclerites A sclerite (Greek , ', meaning " hard") is a hardened body part. In various branches of biology the term is applied to various structures, but not as a rule to vertebrate anatomical features such as bones and teeth. Instead it refers most commonly ...

than '' Metallyticus splendidus''. This mantis tends to rest underneath the bark of trees, feeding on butterflies, termites, flies, and mainly on cockroaches. They also chase after their prey, rather than ambushing them like most mantis species.

References

Insects of Southeast Asia Metallyticus Insects described in 1917 {{Mantodea-stub