Burying mantis

The burying mantis (Sphodropoda tristis) is a species of mantis native to Australia.^[1] They are grey/brown or green, frequently with mottled patterning on the wings, and a have distinctive pale tubercles on the forelegs.^[2] Both sexes can reach lengths of up to 70 mm long. Their common name comes from the behaviour of females, which infrequently bury their oothecae underground.

Burying mantis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Mantodea
Family:	Mantidae
Genus:	Sphodropoda
Species:	S. tristis
Binomial name
Sphodropoda tristis (Saussure, 1871)
Synonyms
Sphodropoda mjobergi Sjostedt, 1918 Sphodropoda moesta Giglio-Tos, 1911 Sphodropoda papua Beier, 1965

See also

• Mantodea of Oceania
• List of mantis genera and species