T elegans Banded Flower Mantis

  Theopropus elegans       Theopropus elegans ♀ at Zoologische Staatssammlung München   Scientific classification   Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Mantodea Family: Hymenopodidae Genus: Theopropus Species: T. elegans Binomial name   Theopropus elegans Westwood, 1832   Theopropus elegans, common name banded flower mantis, is a species of praying mantis native to Southeast Asia. Until their first moult, nymphs have red and black exoskeletons that aid them in ant mimicry. They are green and white starting at their second instar and adults are similar in size and appearance to Creobroter species. Adult females are up to 5 cm in length while males only grow to 3 cm in length due to the sexual dimorphism common in mantises. Both sexes have green and white spots with bright orange hind wings and a large white transverse stripe on the forewings. Individual T. elegans hatched from a sing