Fossil
Amber Insects:
Name: Praying Mantis: Insecta Orders: Orthoptera, Homoptera, Isoptera, Hymenoptera,
and Coleoptera
Age: Pliocene
to Pleistocene
Size: (25.4mm=1
inch): Amber 113 mm long , 30 mm across, 53.9 grams
Location:
Andean Uplift Region, Andes Mountains, Colombia
|  Description:
This larger plaque of amber from the Andean uplift region of Boyaca
Province, Colombia is a magnificent showcase for one of the most
sought-after of inclusions: a 12 mm Praying Mantis. Members of the
Mantidae are not as harmless as the name suggests in that their
forelegs are equipped with spines on both the tibia and femur. Mantids
sit in an upraised position (much as this one has been preserved)
lying in wait for unsuspecting prey (making them also a preying
mantis!).
Notice the eyes in the very mobile head which allow the Mantids
an execellent means of scouting for prey. While they bear some similarities
to their Orthopteran relatives the Cockraoches (Blattidae), there
are many easily-discerned differences. There are several other Orders
of Insecta included: Coleoptera: A fine Beetle; The Planthopper
(Order Homoptera, most likely Family Fulgoridae) is a fine one with
color preservation – this family holds the largest of the
Planthoppers. They are accompanied by a number of flies and midges
(Order Diptera), an ant, a small wasp, and a stingless bee (Order
Hymeoptera), and several wings of Alates (Flying Termites—Isoptera).
Mantids are quite rare inclusions in fossil amber.
|
|
