Praying Mantis In Our Gardens

Praying mantis at Ocean Beach hillside garden in summer 2021.

While the native Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis Carolina) may be beneficial to help reduce unwanted pests in our gardens, some invasive species such as Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) may prey on the natives as well as pollinators – and even birds in rare cases.

The New London Beautification Committee has put together some articles to try to help you distinguishing between native and non-native mantids. . .

The Invasive Mantis Species

By: Jillian Pyle, Easement Steward
Brandywine Conservancy

Praying Mantis – Indiscriminate Predator

By Chris Neff
New Jersey Audubon

Praying or Preying?

By Natural Lands

Alien vs. Native Ootheca

By Southern Meadows Habitat Gardens

Native Carolina mantis (Stagmomantis Carolina)
Photo courtesy of TimVickers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis) 
Photo courtesy of Kaldari, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mantis egg sac (Ootheca)
Photo courtesy of Kropsoq, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons