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How to determine the sex of a praying mantis.

Some find it quite a task to find the sex of a mantid, whereas some find it much easier. I think it is much down to experience, when one has sexed many mantids, it becomes a tip of the eye to note whether a specimen is either male, or female.

The most common way to determine sex is by the abdominal segments. Female mantids typically have 6 or 7 abdominal segments, whereas males have 8. These abdominal segments can be quite hard to count, as some are tucked away at the top of the abdomen. Females usually have much wider abdominal segments, which can be one of the biggest give a ways. The female will generally be much larger, and bear a wider abdomen (most visible when looking down onto the mantid. Males are usually long and slender, quite different to the female.

In species such as the Parasphendale (Bud winged mantis), the female only grows bud wings, hence the name. Males will grow fully developed wings, stretching down the tip of the abdomen.

Cryptic species (in particular the empusid family) can be sexually differentiated by their antennae. Males usually have longer, wispy antenna, whilst females just bear long, thin antennae. This is not the case with all empusids, but main species such as Gongylus (Violin/Indian rose mantis), Idolomantis (Devils flower mantis), and Sybilla (Cryptic mantis).