Eremoplana infelix Uvarov, 1924

Abu-Dannoun, Omar & Katbeh-Bader, Ahmad, 2007, Mantodea of Jordan, Zootaxa 1617, pp. 43-56 : 53

Eremoplana infelix Uvarov, 1924

Distribution: Egypt, Jordan (new to Jordan), Lebanon, Palestine and Saudi-Arabia and Sudan.

Material examined: (2) specimens: Ajlun 19.VIII.03 (1N); Al Azraq?.?.96 (1F); Al Mujeb Reserve – Al Ghawr 22.VIII.05 (1N); Al Mujeb Reserve – Faqu'a 23.VIII.05 (1F, 1M); Ar Rumanah Camp 4.IX.05 (1F); Al Yazediah 20.X.04 (1F); Assarow near As Salt 12.VIII.04 (1N), 30.VIII.03 (1M), 19.IX.03 (1M); Ghawr Kabid 1.X.83 (1), 20.X.92 (1M); Hummrit As Sahin 20.IV.04 (5N), 31.V.05 (1N), 14.VI.04 (3N), 8.VIII.05 (1F,2N), 6.IX.04 (4F, 1M); Kufrinjah 25.VIII.03 (2F); Kufr Jayiz 27.VII.04 (1F); Yajuz 14.VI.05 (1N).

Remarks: Eremoplana infelix is recorded from Jordan for the first time. It is the largest Mantodea in Jordan, reaching up to 12 cm in length. It is very calm and moves slowly on shrubs. However, males are good fliers and were seen flying actively during hot summer nights. Many adult females were easily reared in cages on grasshoppers ( Acrida sp.: Acrididae ). The female ate the male when it was hungry during or before mating. However, when females were offered a large meal, they did not attack males during mating. Caged individuals were found to tolerate starvation for a month. Interestingly, two females became blind after a month of captivity. This phenomenon was previously observed in Sphodromantis lineola ( Bischoff et al., 2001) . The female lays its ootheca in October to November. This species can be found during almost every month of the year in Jordan. It was often observed on Gypsophila arabica and Sarcopoterium spinosum .