Mantis religiosa, Grozdiovo, Bulgaria, August 1995 ©D.Staykov
Mantodea. Praying Mantids.
Praying mantids are predatory insectivorous insects. Together with the cockroaches (Blattodea) and the termites (Isoptera) they belong to the order Dictyoptera. The suborder Mantodea comprises about 1200 species worldwide with the greatest diversity in the tropics.
Four species occur in Bulgaria (Buresch & Peshev, 1957):
Amelidae
Ameles heldreichi
Mantidae
Mantis religiosa
Iris oratoria
Empusidae
Empusa fasciata
