Iberian Mantis

Apteromantis aptera · Order: Mantodea · Family: Amelidae

Also called: Wingless Mantis

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Iberian Mantis
Photo: Marabuto E, Rodrigues I, Henriques S, CC BY

The Iberian mantis can be brown, grey or green and has sharply angular eyes that point upward and outward. Young mantises hide low in grasses and jump like small grasshoppers, making them hard to spot. It is native only to the Iberian Peninsula.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Their eyes are very angular and taper to points that face upward and outward.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Nymphs stay low in grasses and can jump with agility.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

This species is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Nymphs can be mistaken for small grasshoppers because they hide low and jump similarly.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Iberian Mantis photo 2
Photo: gailhampshire, CC BY 2.0
Iberian Mantis photo 3
Photo: gailhampshire, CC BY 2.0
Iberian Mantis photo 4
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K, CC BY 2.0
Iberian Mantis photo 5
Photo: Ivo Rosa, CC BY

Same family (Amelidae)

European Dwarf MantisEuropean Dwarf MantisAmeles spallanzaniaGrey MantisGrey MantisAmeles decolorAgile Ground MantisAgile Ground MantisLitaneutria minorYersinia mexicanaYersinia mexicanaYersinia mexicanaSpined Dwarf MantisSpined Dwarf MantisAmeles fasciipennis

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apteromantis_aptera

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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