Mantodea
Praying mantises are unmistakable: a triangular head set on a flexible neck, large compound eyes, and a pair of raptorial forelegs lined with spines used to grasp prey.
All mantises are predators that ambush other arthropods, and a few large tropical species occasionally take small vertebrates. Females of many species deposit eggs in a foamy case called an ootheca that hardens around the clutch and protects them through winter.
The order holds about 2,400 described species worldwide and is most diverse in tropical regions.
Mantidae - Stagmomantis nahua
Pin #128 · Mantodea · Mantidae - Stagmomantis nahua
Guatemala: Guatemala City · 19 Oct 2023 · 14.63, -90.51
Collector: UVG · Photographer/ID: A. Angel
Preservation: Pin through right side of pronotum
Characters: Mantid; pale green-yellow body, banded brown abdomen; raptorial forelegs with rows of femoral spines; pronotum longer than wide; triangular head; filiform antennae.
Mantidae - Phasmomantis sp.
Pin #127 · Mantodea · Mantidae - Phasmomantis sp.
Guatemala: Livingston · 06 Sep 2021 · 15.76, -88.88
Photographer: FLAAR · ID: A. Angel
Preservation: Pin through right side of pronotum
Characters: mantid; bright yellow elongate body; raptorial forelegs; pronotum distinctly longer than wide; perched on understory vegetation.