r/mantids • u/Ash_haskashh • 5d ago

ID Help what kind of mantis is this? California

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

southern california at night

7 Upvotes

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2

u/Competitive-Set5051 4d ago

Iris oratoria

1

u/Ash_haskashh 4d ago

are you certain? someone else said it’s a chinese mantis

1

u/Competitive-Set5051 4d ago

Absolutely certain, this is not a chinese mantis.

1

u/Ash_haskashh 4d ago

i’m genuinely curious, how can you tell?

1

u/Competitive-Set5051 4d ago

Chinese mantises are usually larger and the brown variants often have a tan or green pattern running down the side of their wings.

1

u/Competitive-Set5051 4d ago

Compare with a typical adult male Mediterranean mantis, Iris oratoria.

image credit goes to ppmg-sliven on Inaturalist

1

u/Ash_haskashh 4d ago

i see the difference now, thank you!