A green mantis from the land of Santo Domingo
Christmas Eve in the Dominican Republic delivered a second mantis before lunch. This one was green, sturdy, and sitting head-down on a broad leaf, watching me with the calm, unhurried stare that only a mantis can produce. I stopped, and we sized each other up for a long minute. I have learned to expect mantises in the Caribbean, but I have also learned that no two encounters are quite the same.
It was Isomantis domingensis, the Antillean mantis, a member of the mantis family Mantidae in the order Mantodea. The species name domingensis means “of Santo Domingo,” a reference to Hispaniola, the island where this mantis is at home. The taxonomy of the name has shifted over the years, and current checklists often fold it into the genus Isomantis, but the insect itself remains a Caribbean specialty.
Mantises need no introduction as hunters. The forelegs are armed with rows of spines, the head swivels to scan for prey, and the strike is fast enough to blur. The legs end in small claws that grip the leaf edge, and the mantis rocks slightly, the way a leaf would in a breeze, which may be exactly the point. They sit and wait, and waiting has served them well for tens of millions of years.
The name praying mantis comes from the folded forelegs, which look like hands clasped in prayer, though the mantis is praying mainly for lunch. On an island full of surprises, a patient green hunter on a Christmas Eve leaf was one of the better ones.
