19th-Century engraving of a praying mantis
The longest
species of praying mantis currently known to science is the giant stick mantis Ischnomantis
gigas. Brown in colour, enabling it to blend in with the bushes upon which
it lives and lies in wait for unwary prey to approach, this mighty mantid is
native to Senegal, southern Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, northern Nigeria,
Cameroon, and Sudan. The longest specimen on record is an adult female
collected in Kankiya, northern Nigeria, which measured
a very impressive 17.2 cm long, and is now preserved in London's Natural
History Museum.
Ischnomantis
media, a smaller relative of I.
gigas (public domain)
Africa is also home to
the world's largest mantis species, the aptly-named mega-mantis Plistospilota
guineensis, native to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, and Ghana. Adult females
grow up to 11 cm long, but are bulkier and heavier (weighing up to 10 g) than
those of the giant stick mantis. They also have much larger wings; the wings of
females belonging to the giant stick mantis I. gigas are so small that
the females are rendered flightless.
But could there
be even bigger species of mantid still awaiting formal scientific discovery
and description? The reason why I ask this question is that a few years ago I
had a first-hand encounter with a mysterious giant mantis, one that I was
unable to identify and which has puzzled me ever since. So I am now documenting
it here – as an online ShukerNature exclusive – in the hope that someone
reading this post of mine may be able to offer a solution.
Mantids of many kinds (public domain)
In November
2008, my mother Mary D. Shuker and I spent four days at the private Shamwari
Game Reserve, situated just outside Port Elizabeth in South Africa's Eastern Cape. On the last
day of our stay there, just a few moments before the car arrived to take us and
some other Shamwari guests back to the airport at Port Elizabeth, one of the
safari guides walked over towards where we were all waiting, and squatting on the
outstretched palm of his right hand was what I can only describe as an
absolutely enormous praying mantis.
Brown in colour
and very burly, this extraordinary specimen was so big that it was easily the
length of his entire hand, and it was very much alive. Its 'praying' front
limbs were moving slightly, and its head turned to look at us as we gazed at it
in astonishment. As it made no attempt to fly away, however, I am assuming that
it was flightless.
Frustratingly,
my camera was packed away in one of my cases, so I couldn't take any
photographs of this amazing insect. Nor could I question the guide about it,
because at that same moment the car arrived to take us to the airport, so the
guide walked off, still carrying the huge mantis on his hand.
19th-Century engraving illustrating a selection of mantids
Needless to say,
I have never forgotten that spectacular creature, and I have sought ever since
to uncover its taxonomic identity, but I have been unable to reconcile it with
any mantis species recorded from South Africa (or, indeed, from anywhere else
for that matter!).
So what was
this mystery mantis of truly monstrous dimensions? If anyone can provide an
answer, I'd love to hear from you!
Mom (on right)
with a fellow guest in front of Long Lee Manor, our place of residence while staying in Shamwari
Private Game Reserve, South Africa, November 2008 (© Dr Karl Shuker)
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