Mantids (Preying Mantis) are one of the most spectacular insects and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, behavior, & distribution; here are some examples from Saussure (1871), pl.4.
Washington, DC sees 5 common species in the Family Mantidae, 4 are introduced: European Mantis (M. religiosa), Narrow-winged Mantis (T. angustipennis), Asian Jumping Mantis (S. maculata), Chinese Mantis (T. sinensis), & the native Carolina Mantis (S. carolina) (via @iNaturalist)
H de Saussure's work "Mélanges Orthoptérologiques" in Memoires de la Société de physique et d'histoire naturelle de Genève (t.21: pt.1-2 1871-72) is the 1st description of Chinese Mantis (T. sinensis). Text | Plate.
The image above is a Chinese Mantis I observed in my neighborhood a few years back (observation on @iNaturalist)
And here's some Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) observed over the years (via @iNaturalist).
