Editing Chinese mantis (section)

{{Short description|Species of praying mantis}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Tenodera_sinensis_5_Luc_Viatour.jpg
| image_caption = Adult male
| taxon = Tenodera sinensis
| display_parents = 4
| authority = ([[Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure|Saussure]], 1871)
| synonyms =
* ''Tenodera aridifolia sinensis'' <small>(Saussure, 1871)</small>
* ''Mantis mandarinea'' <br><small>(Saussure, 1871)</small><ref name=TexasA&MUniversity>{{cite web|url=https://insects.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Arthropoda/Insects/Mantodea/Family/Mantidae.txt |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013063616/https://insects.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/Arthropoda/Insects/Mantodea/Family/Mantidae.txt |archivedate=2014-10-13 }} Texas A&M University</ref>
* ''Paratenodera sinensis'' <br><small>(Saussure, 1871)</small><ref name=blatchley1920/>
}}

The '''Chinese mantis''' ('''''Tenodera sinensis''''') is a species of [[mantis]] native to Asia and the nearby islands. In 1896, this species was accidentally introduced by a nursery tender at [[Mount Airy, Philadelphia|Mt. Airy]] near [[Philadelphia]], United States.<ref name=blatchley1920>{{cite book|last=Blatchley|first=Willis Stanley |title=Orthoptera of northeastern America: with especial reference to the faunas of Indiana and Florida|url=https://archive.org/details/orthopteraofnort00blat|year=1920|publisher=The Nature Publishing Company|pages=[https://archive.org/details/orthopteraofnort00blat/page/122 122]–123}}</ref> ''Tenodera sinensis'' often is erroneously referred to as ''Tenodera aridifolia sinensis'' because it was at first [[Species description|described]] as a subspecies of ''[[Tenodera aridifolia]]'', but ''Tenodera sinensis'' is now established as a full species.<ref>Ehrmann, R. 2002. Mantodea: Gottesanbeterinnen der Welt. Natur und Tier, Münster</ref>

''Tenodera sinensis'' feeds primarily on other insects, though adult females sometimes catch small [[vertebrate]]s. For example, they have been observed feeding on hornets, spiders, grasshoppers, katydids, small reptiles, amphibians, and even [[hummingbird]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx |title=Praying Mantis Makes Meal of a Hummer |date=2005-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051212115752/http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyardbirds/hummingbirds/mantis-hummer.aspx |archive-date=2005-12-12}}</ref> Like most mantids, they are known to be [[cannibalism|cannibalistic]]. One study found that cannibalism occurs in up to 50% of matings.<ref>{{Cite journal|url= |doi=10.1098/rspb.2016.0656|title=Sexual cannibalism increases male material investment in offspring: Quantifying terminal reproductive effort in a praying mantis|year=2016|last1=Brown|first1=William D.|last2=Barry|first2=Katherine L.|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=283|issue=1833|pmid=27358366|pmc=4936037}}</ref> These mantids have been observed eating the larvae of [[Danaus (genus)|monarch butterflies]], while discarding the entrails.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/25/chinese-mantis-guts-its-toxic-caterpillar-prey/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127191348/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/25/chinese-mantis-guts-its-toxic-caterpillar-prey/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 27, 2013|title = Chinese Mantis Guts Its Toxic Caterpillar Prey|date = 25 January 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Tenodera sinensis eats male Libellula luctuosa.jpg|thumb|Eating a [[Widow skimmer]] in [[Warrenville, Illinois]]]]
[[File:Mantis catches grasshopper.webm|thumb|thumbtime=3|A Chinese mantis catches a [[differential grasshopper]]]]