Chinese Mantis

Chinese Mantis

Tenodera sinensis

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Salt Lake City

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

200 Verified sightings at Salt Lake City
125 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Chinese Mantis

The Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis), is a species of mantis native to temperate Asia and the nearby islands. In 1896, this species was accidentally introduced by a nursery tender at Mt. Airy, a neighborhood of Philadelphia, United States. T. sinensis often is erroneously referred to as Tenodera aridifolia sinensis because it was at first described as a subspecies of Tenodera aridifolia, but T. sinensis is now established as a full species.

T. sinensis feeds primarily on other large insects, though adult females sometimes catch small vertebrates. For example, they have been observed feeding on hornets, spiders, grasshoppers, katydids, small reptiles, amphibians, and even hummingbirds. Like most mantids, they are known to be cannibalistic. One study found that cannibalism occurs in up to 50% of matings. These mantids have been observed eating the larvae of monarch butterflies, while discarding the entrails.

The Chinese mantis is a long, slender, brown and green praying mantis. It is typically longer than other praying mantis species, reaching just over 11 cm (4.3 in), and is the largest mantis species in North America (spread throughout the Northeast United States... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
2 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nagoya 🇯🇵 Japan
~30%
2 Detroit 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Hefei 🇨🇳 China
~20%
4 Daegu 🇰🇷 South Korea
~20%
5 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
6 Tokyo 🇯🇵 Japan
~20%
7 Daejeon 🇰🇷 South Korea
~20%
8 Baltimore 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
10 Boston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chinese Mantis in Salt Lake City?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Mantis sighting in Salt Lake City on a given day, based on 200 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 13th most-seen of the 242 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Chinese Mantis in Salt Lake City?

September and October

In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chinese Mantis in Salt Lake City on a given day, against under 5% in March, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Chinese Mantis?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chinese Mantis sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Salt Lake City the best place to see a Chinese Mantis?

5th of 31

Of the 31 cities where we can rate Chinese Mantis sightings, Salt Lake City ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Nagoya (Japan, about 30%), Detroit (United States, about 20%) and Hefei (China, about 20%).

Where does the Chinese Mantis sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chinese Mantis is recorded against all the insects logged in Salt Lake City (200 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.

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