Blepharopsis mendica mendica ( Fabricius, 1775 )

Abu-Dannoun, Omar & Katbeh-Bader, Ahmad, 2007, Mantodea of Jordan, Zootaxa 1617, pp. 43-56 : 48

Blepharopsis mendica mendica ( Fabricius, 1775)

Distribution: Afganistan, Algeria, Canary Islands, Chad, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethopia, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, North Africa, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Tashad, Tunisia and Turkey.

Material examined: (31) specimens: Al Arida 26.II.02 (1N); Al Azraq 19.V.95 (1N); Al Karamah 12.III.93 (1M), 7.IV.04 (1F); Al Kashef 18.IV.01 (1F) ( JPUC); Al Mesherfah 30.III.03 (1N); Al Muwaqqar 20.X.95 (2N); Ar Rumanah Camp 4.IX.05 (1N); Ash Shawmary Reserve 30.VIII.05 (1M); Az Zarqa’ 1.IV.91 (1N), 12.XI.91 (1N); Ghawr Hadethah 19.IX.05 (1N); Ghawr Kabid 15.III.98 (1N), 25.III.98 (1N) (YUC), 17.IV.86 (1N), 18.IV.93 (1N), 4.V.98 (1M); Hummrit As Sahin 8.VIII.05 (1N), 17.X.05 (3N); Kufr Jayiz 23.II.05 (3N), 21.III.05 (3N) reared 28.IV.05 (1)F, 8.V (1).05 (1M), 30.III.04 (1M); Madaba 2.IV.98 (1F,1M); Sad Wadi Al Arab 8.XI.05 (1N).

Remarks: Blepharopsis mendica mendica is similar to B. mendica nuda , which was described as a new species by Giglio-Tos (1917), but the mid and hind legs are covered with hairs. B. mendica nuda lives only in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Yemen and Palestine. B. mendica was observed to be attracted to artificial lights in March to April and August. Both sexes are winged but are not good fliers. The mottled tegmina provide a good example of disruptive patterning ( Brackenbury, 1999). Usually they are found on spiny bushes, or dry bushes such as Sarcopoterium spinosum and Varthemia iphionoid . The nymphs of B. mendica raise and bend their lobed abdomens upward to decrease their body size and to mimic the leaves of Sarcopoterium spinosum . The adults usually appear from March to April. The species overwinters as nymphs. Adults remained alive in captivity without food for 15–20 days.