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This is a very small mantid, around 1cm-3cm that lives in low vegetation in warm, dry places. Their colour can be green, grey or brown to help them blend into their surroundings. The females cannot fly and only possess small wing vestiges. The males have working wings which are as long as the body and so the overall look is very different between the sexes. Unlike the much larger common Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) the female of this species does not cannibalise the male whilst mating. Their tiny oothecas (egg cases) are often attached to the base of a rock.
 The female European Dwarf Mantis has a very broad abdomen which is invariably curled upwards and their eyes have a pointed appearance. There are 5 Ameles species found within Spain and they are very similar, making identification very difficult especially with the males. The head shape and also that of the pronotum (shield type neck cover) are important areas to study to help in identification.
Family: Mantidae
Scientific: Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792)
English: European Dwarf Mantis
Spanish: Mantis Enana Europea
Distribution: Southern Europe, Morocco, Algeria
The image to the left shows the slightly pointed eyes and shape of the pronotum of Ameles spallanzania, the image to the right shows a different Ameles species with more rounded eyes and a pronotum which narrows towards the body. The colours vary within the same species and therefore are not indicative of type. The lower image shows the tiny ootheca of an Ameles species at just 1cm.
More general information and images on Mantises and a list of the species within Iberia
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 November 2008 14:01 )
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Insects and Creepy Crawlies 
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