Unusual Praying Mantis found Sunday, August 3, 2008

From George Lauster : This is a very light colored praying mantis my son Eamon found on our back deck. We have several mantids each year, but they are always bright green. This one was seen on Sept. 25, 2007, during the midday. A search of the internet found mention of other white praying mantids and other invertebrates, including a palmetto bug in Florida. There appears to be an argument on whether albinism occurs in invertebrates since exoskeletons are not pigmented the same as skin. However, an unreferenced posting at Argonne National Lab’s “Ask a Scientist” page suggests that the genetic mutation of color is possible regardless of how it occurs (http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zoo00/zoo00698.htm). An exotic pet web site lists a chinese mantid that is a very light brown (http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/chinese-mantis.html). I found several references to chinese mantids occurring in the wild in the US, but so far no information on distribution.