Tenodera australasiae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Supercohort: Polyneoptera
Cohort: Dictyoptera
Ordo: Mantodea

Familia: Mantidae
Subfamilia: Mantinae
Tribus: Polyspilotini
Genus: Tenodera
Species: Tenodera australasiae

Tenodera australasiae, the purple-winged mantis, is species of praying mantis. Found in Australia, it is common in most parts of Brisbane (QLD). Both males and females are capable of flight. The species has not been shown to be parthenogenetic.

Range

All of Australia,[2] but said to be absent in New Zealand.[3]
Diet

The purple-winged mantis has varied diet consisting mainly of other insects, however, they have been seen eating much larger animals such as small frogs, lizards etc. Tenodera australasiae can be cannibalistic but not quite an aggressive mantis.
Related

The genus Tenodera has a number of species including:

Tenodera aridifolia,
Tenodera sinensis - Chinese mantis,
Tenodera australasiae - purple-winged mantis,
Tenodera superstitiosa found in Africa.

See also

List of Australian stick insects and mantids
Mantodea of Oceania

References

[1] Texas A&M University
[2] www.ces.csiro.au Tenodera australasiae (Leach)
[3] Ramsay, G. W. 1990. Mantodea (Insecta) with a review of aspects of functional morphology and biology. Fauna of New Zealand 19, 96 pages. ISBN 0-477-02581-1. Published 13 June 1990.