Praying Mantis with Novel Mimicry Strategy
In northern Peru, on the banks of the Amazon River, Dr. Gavin Svenson and his team of fellow researchers set up camp to begin a large-scale insect sampling project. As the Director of Research & Collections and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Dr. Svenson planned to gather genetic material from many different types of insects, primarily praying mantises, to take back to the lab in hopes of learning more about these creatures’ evolution.
Research team examines light trap for specimens during field expedition
Dr. Gavin Svenson carries light trap in the midst of the Amazon, where he’s conducting a large-scale survey of insects
With this objective in mind, he and his team hardly expected to discover a never-before-seen species of mantis—but that’s precisely what happened. Within an hour of setting up a large light trap—which attracts insects much like a porch light—the researcher glimpsed something unusual.
“This tiny little thing came in,” recalls Dr. Svenson. “I knew it was slightly different. It didn't quite look right. […] I went up and I grabbed it and I put it in a little vial and then once we started observing it, we knew we had something.”
Two traits, in particular, signaled to Dr. Svenson that this was a specimen of interest. He recognized it as a mantis, but it had an unusually bright red-orange color pattern and it moved erratically, much like a wasp.
These features indicated possible mimicry behavior, but it gave Dr. Svenson pause. Typically, adult mantises try to blend in with their environments for protection by camouflaging themselves with plant matter, such as leaves, twigs, grass, or flowers. And, aside from some young mantises displaying ant-like behaviors and morphology, it is rare for a mantis to mimic another animal. Therefore, a wasp-mimicking mantis is a somewhat peculiar sight to see.
It’s also uncommon to see mantises with bright, conspicuous coloring. This typically draws more attention from its own predators than a mantis would want. As an expert entomologist who has dedicated his career to studying praying mantises, Dr. Svenson knew this mantis’s striking coloration combined with its apparent mimicry pattern was novel, but the question remained—was this a new species?
“Knowing something is a new species or knowing something is unique extends past just general appearance and coloration,” explains Dr. Svenson. “[We look at] many other sources of information that could include ecology, behavior, and physiology.”
The only known specimen from the praying mantis species Vespamantoida wherleyi under observation after collection
New species of praying mantis, Vespamantoida wherleyi, perches on a leaf from its native habitat
Striking red-orange coloration of Vespamantoida wherleyi stands out in stark contrast against tree bark
This is where lab analyses came in handy. Dr. Svenson and his team conducted internal dissections to record the mantis's morphological and physiological characteristics and measurements. They also performed extensive comparative analyses with other known mantises in the Mantoididae family to confirm whether or not this was a new species or simply a variation of something that’s been seen before.
“In this case, there was so much differentiation with the rest of the group that it confirmed that it was quite new,” says Dr. Svenson.
Also, during this comparative analysis, Dr. Svenson came across the description of another mantis with similar external and internal characteristics. But the resemblances ended there. This mantis, named Mantoida toulgoeti, was different from the one Dr. Svenson discovered, so he knew they were not the same species. However, their similarities offered the researcher some important clues.
Neither mantis seemed to belong to any of the already-established species groups. It seemed the two species were so unique among all known mantises that they belonged in their own, newly established genus. Further analysis confirmed his hypothesis. He named this new genus Vespamantoida, meaning “wasp-like mantis.”
Thus, Mantoida toulgoeti became Vespamantoida toulgoeti. And, as for his newly discovered species, Dr. Svenson chose to honor a longtime Museum volunteer, Rick Wherley, by naming it Vespamantoida wherleyi. For now, these two species are the only known mantises from the genus Vespamantoida, but perhaps in time, the lineage will grow.
“There are about 2,500 species of mantises described,” explains Dr. Svenson. “I'd put a bet on there being about 5,000. So, I think we're just halfway there. I think the most interesting thing about this family of mantises is the fact that most of the adults do mimic wasps, and that is quite unique for praying mantises. I think the next natural thing is to study the evolutionary biology of the lineage. If wasp mimicry is successful in this lineage, why has it not evolved in the other lineages as well? Why have no other species within the family evolved brightly colored wasp mimicry? We’re just not sure.”
You can read more about Dr. Svenson’s discovery in an article published today in the international online journal
PeerJ.