Gongylus gongylodes are one of the most bizarre looking mantises in the world. The common names of Gongylus gongylodes are Indian Rose Mantis, Violin Mantis, Wandering Violin Mantis, and Dead Leaf Mantis. Violin Mantises are brown, are in the shape of violins, and have pink eyes. Violin Mantises live in southern India and Sri Lanka. The purpose of this essay is to inform you unnecessarily about the Violin Mantis.

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First, I shall give you the basic description of the Violin Mantis. Females grow up to about 9-10 centimeters and males grow up to about 8 centimeters. All Violin Mantises are brown; it’s leaf like projections on it twig-like legs, its ability to blend in with dead leaves, and their twig-like neck help it to survive. If you ever wanted to identify a Violin Mantis here are its characteristics that will help you; its twig-like legs and neck with leaf projections, its brownish color, and its pinkish eyes. To support my thesis, I shall, and will, tell you that you probably won’t ever need this information.

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Second, I’m going to tell you about its habitat, population, and conservation. The Indian Rose Mantis is found in Sri Lanka and Southern India.  Some people keep the Mantis’ as pets, and breed them.  The Mantis needs a fairly large enclosure to allow them room for molting.  There are several websites online where you can purchase the Indian Rose Mantis (Violin Mantis).

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Lastly, I’m going to tell you about the Violin Mantises diet, feeding habits, and predators. Its role in the food web is very low. The Violin Mantis is a sit and wait predator, which means they sit and wait for small flying insects to go by and then eat them. The predators of the Violin Mantis are mostly birds and bats. They prevent themselves from being eaten by their ability to blend in with dead leaves. As a thesis support, I don’t see how this will help you get through in life.

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The Violin Mantis isn’t as important as a lion but I’d say that this mantis is more important than flies. What stood out about this mantis were its twig-like legs. I think it was very fun to research the Violin Mantis.

Author: MeghanW
Published: 03/13

Resource Links:
Ukmantisforums.co.uk
Insectstore.com/Gongylus.php?osCsid
Mantiskingdom.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=12&chapter=1
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongylus_gongylodes

 

Photo Credit: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5088270