356 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1950 



2. Narrow- winged mantis, Tenodera angustipennis Saussure : 



This is a close relative of the foregoing species, from which it 

 differs in being smaller and less robust and in having less dark color 

 on the hind wings. The egg mass is elongate, usually an inch to an 

 inch and a half long, and seldom over one-half inch in diameter. 

 This mantid is also Asiatic in origin. It was noticed near Aberdeen, 

 Md., as early as 1926 but was not noted by a published record until 

 1933. Prior to that time adults had been supposed by a number of 

 people who found them to be small individuals of the Chinese mantis, 

 though the eggs were puzzling and not satisfactorily explained. It 

 was first reported (Jones, 1933) from the region of New Castle, Del., 

 and adjacent Maryland. It is now well established from New York 

 City to Virginia. Attempts to establish the narrow-winged mantis 

 at Stamford, Conn., have been unsuccessful (letter from Dr. Stanley 

 W. Bromley) . 



In some localities this species is apparently fully as common as 

 the Chinese mantis, but at Falls Church, Va., I have found more of 

 the latter, both of egg masses and the mantids themselves. However, 

 egg masses of the narrow- winged species are seldom found on weeds 

 such as goldenrod but occur attached lengthwise to the surface of 

 woody stems or twigs that usually are at least as large in diameter 

 as the width of an egg mass. In contrast, the chunky oothecae of the 

 Chinese mantis occur both on small weeds, the stems of which they 

 often enclose, and on the twigs of shrubs and trees. A weed field 

 having few shrubs or trees will therefore offer the Chinese mantis 

 much better opportunities for oviposition. 



xVt Falls Church, Va., eggs of the Chinese mantis hatched from 

 May 27 to June 26, the majority during the first 10 days of June. 

 As oothecae of the narrow-winged species yielded their young between 

 June 17 and 27, the average hatching date is probably 1 to 2 weeks 

 later than for the larger species. 



3. European mantis, Mantis religiosa Linnaeus : 



This is a widespread species of northern Africa, southern Europe, 

 and temperate Asia. It appeared at Rochester, N. Y., in 1899, prob- 

 ably the result of eggs being introduced on nursery stock. Soon 

 after the discovery at Rochester, a fine account (Slingerland, 1900) 

 of the species was prepared. Adults are about 2 to 2^^ inches long, 

 and the wings cover the abdomen when folded. Egg masses are 

 rather more bulky than those of the Carolina mantis, but less so than 

 those of the Chinese mantis and differently shaped. 



For some years the European mantis has been well established in 

 western New York and southern Ontario, where the climate is less 

 severe than in northern New England. It was noticed in 1949 at 



