You’re standing in your backyard, and suddenly, a twig moves. It’s got bulging eyes, a triangular head that pivots like a security camera, and front legs folded in what looks like a pious gesture. Most people see a green bug and think, "Oh, a praying mantis." They assume there’s just one or two kinds. Maybe a green one and a brown one.
But here’s the reality.
When you ask how many types of praying mantises are there, you aren’t just looking at a couple of garden variety insects. You are looking at a massive, incredibly diverse order of insects called Mantodea. Scientists have currently identified roughly 2,400 to 2,500 different species. That number isn't even fixed. Every year, researchers trekking through the rainforests of Southeast Asia or the deep brush of South America find something new—a mantis that looks like a dead leaf, one that mimics a bright orchid, or even a tiny one that scurries around like an ant.
It's wild.
The Taxonomy Puzzle: Breaking Down the 2,400 Species
To understand the sheer scale of these creatures, we have to look at how they're grouped. They aren't just a monolith. The order Mantodea is broken down into about 15 to 30 families, depending on which entomologist you ask and which recent DNA study you’re reading. The Mantidae family is the big one, containing the most "classic" looking mantises you’re used to seeing in North America or Europe.
But categorization is messy.
Taxonomy is basically a giant, ongoing argument between scientists. Some want to "lump" species together; others want to "split" them. For instance, recent phylogenomic research has completely rearranged the mantis family tree. What we used to think were close relatives based on how they looked are often completely unrelated. Evolution is tricky like that. It loves "convergent evolution," where two different types of mantises evolve to look like sticks even though they live on different continents and haven't shared an ancestor in millions of years.
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Why geography dictates the count
If you live in the United Kingdom, you’re looking at precisely zero native species. If you’re in the United States, you’ve got about 20 species, but even then, the most common ones—the Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) and the European Mantis (Mantis religiosa)—aren't even from here. They were brought over in the late 1800s to help with pest control.
Meanwhile, if you’re in a tropical rainforest in Malaysia? You’re in the jackpot. The tropics are where the vast majority of those 2,400+ species live. High humidity and dense foliage create the perfect environment for "specialist" mantises. These are bugs that have evolved to look like one specific type of moss or a single species of flower.
The Mimics: When a Mantis Isn't Just a Mantis
Honestly, the coolest part about the different types of praying mantises is their "costumes." This isn't just for show. It’s life or death.
Take the Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus). If you saw one, you’d swear it was a petal. They have lobe-like structures on their legs that look exactly like flower parts. They don’t just hide on flowers; they are the flower. Insects fly right toward them looking for nectar and end up as lunch. This is called aggressive mimicry. It’s brilliant and slightly terrifying.
Then you have the Dead Leaf Mantis. There are several species in the Deroplatys genus that have evolved flattened bodies and brown, mottled coloring. They even have "veins" on their wings that look like the leaf's ribbing. When they feel threatened, they don't always run. They just sit there. They look like a piece of debris on the forest floor. You could step right over one and never know it was there.
The Weird Ones: Moss, Ants, and Giants
- Moss Mantises: Usually found in South America, these guys (Pogonogaster) have literal spiny outgrowths that look like lichen or moss.
- Ant Mantises: When they’re young (nymphs), some species look exactly like ants. Why? Because ants are aggressive and most predators leave them alone. It’s a survival tactic called Batesian mimicry.
- The Giants: The African Giant Mantis (Sphodromantis lineola) can grow to be four or five inches long. They are beefy. They’ve been known to catch small birds, lizards, and even frogs.
Why Do We Keep Finding New Types?
You might wonder how we can still be discovering new species in 2026. Isn't everything mapped out?
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Not even close.
Most mantis species live in the "canopy"—the tops of trees in tropical jungles. Humans don't spend a lot of time 100 feet up in a mahogany tree. Many species are also highly localized. A specific type of mantis might only live on one single mountain range in Vietnam. If no scientist goes to that specific mountain, that mantis doesn't "exist" in our records.
Also, many mantises are nocturnal. They only come out at night, and they’re incredibly good at not being seen. Researchers often have to use "light traps"—basically giant white sheets with powerful UV lights—to lure them out of the shadows. Even then, you might only catch the males, because in many species, the females are flightless and stay hidden in the brush.
Misconceptions: What Most People Get Wrong
People often think that every mantis eats her husband.
While sexual cannibalism does happen, it’s not a universal rule across all 2,400 types. In the wild, it probably happens less than 30% of the time. It’s much more common in a laboratory or a pet cage where the male has nowhere to run. Some species are actually quite "docile" with each other.
Another big myth? That it’s illegal to kill a praying mantis.
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In the U.S., there’s no federal or state law that protects mantises. This rumor probably started because they are so beneficial for gardens. People wanted to scare others into leaving them alone. While they aren't endangered as a group, some specific types of praying mantises are definitely under threat because their specific habitats (like rainforests) are being cut down.
How to Identify the Type of Mantis in Your Yard
If you’re trying to figure out which of the 2,400 species is sitting on your rosebush, you can usually narrow it down by looking at a few key features.
- The "Armpit" Spots: If you gently lift the front legs of a mantis and see a black-and-white spot (like an eye) near the joint, you’re likely looking at a European Mantis.
- The Spot Between the Arms: A Chinese Mantis usually has a yellow spot between its front legs. They are also much larger, often reaching 5 inches.
- The Shape of the Shield: Look at the "neck" (the pronotum). Is it long and thin? Is it flared out like a shield? A Carolina Mantis is smaller, usually greyish-brown, and has a much shorter neck than the Chinese variety.
Actionable Steps for Mantis Lovers
If you've fallen down the rabbit hole of wanting to see these 2,400 species for yourself, here is how you can actually engage with them.
Start a Mantis Garden
Stop using broad-spectrum pesticides. If you kill the "pests," you kill the mantis food source. Plant native shrubs and tall grasses. Mantises love "verticality." They want to climb. Providing a variety of heights in your garden gives them hunting grounds and places to hide from birds.
Join the Citizen Science Movement
If you find a weird-looking mantis, don't just poke it. Take a high-quality photo of its head, its back, and—if possible—the underside of its front legs. Upload it to iNaturalist. Real entomologists use this data to track species distributions. You might actually help record a species in an area where it’s never been seen before.
Think Before You Buy
You can buy mantis egg cases (oothecae) online to release in your garden. Be careful. Most of the ones sold are the Chinese Mantis. While they are great hunters, they are also "generalists." They will eat bees, butterflies, and even our smaller native mantises. If you want to support your local ecosystem, try to find a source for native species specific to your region.
Observation over Interference
The best way to appreciate the diversity of the 2,400 types of praying mantises is to just watch. If you find one, stay still. Watch how it sways back and forth—it’s mimicking a leaf in the wind. Watch how it cleans its antennae like a cat. These are some of the most sophisticated predators on the planet, and we are still just scratching the surface of how many variations of them truly exist out there in the wild.
The next time someone asks you how many types of praying mantises there are, don't just say "a few." Tell them about the thousands of tiny, camouflaged ninjas hiding in every corner of the globe, from the driest deserts to the wettest jungles. We're sharing the planet with a massive, ancient lineage that has perfected the art of disappearing in plain sight.