Sphodropoda tristis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The burying mantis (Sphodropoda tristis) is a species of mantis native to Australia. They are grey/brown or green, frequently with mottled patterning on the wings, and a have distinctive pale tubercles on the forelegs. Both sexes can reach lengths of up to 70 mm. Their common name comes from the behaviour of females, which infrequently bury their oothecae underground. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Burying Mantis sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 290th most-seen of the 1083 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Burying Mantis in Brisbane on a given day, against under 5% in January and April–October, the lowest months. Those are among Brisbane's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Burying Mantis sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Brisbane, in our data
Brisbane is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Burying Mantis sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Mantidae
The closest relatives of the Burying Mantis that you can see in Brisbane (family Mantidae, Mantids) are Australian Garden Mantis (about 20%), Australian Stick Mantis (about 20%) and False Garden Mantis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Burying Mantis is recorded against all the insects logged in Brisbane (45 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
