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Mantidis Ootheca (sangpiaoxiao), the egg case of the mantis, is a type of insect-derived traditional medicine widely used in East Asia. However, species identification based on egg morphology is challenging, leading to the distribution of counterfeit and adulterated products. The use of inauthentic ingredients can pose serious health risks to consumers. This study aimed to develop PCR markers that can rapidly and accurately differentiate between authentic and counterfeit Mantidis Ootheca. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) region was sequenced in thirteen samples from four mantis species: Tenodera angustipennis , Statilia maculata , Hierodula patellifera , and T. sinensis . Four sets of SCAR primers were designed based on species-specific nucleotide polymorphisms, and a multiplex SCAR assay was developed by combining all sets of the primers. The sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) primers successfully produced amplicons for each target species, even with low-DNA templates or templates containing DNA from multiple samples. No amplification was observed for nontarget species. This study presents a novel approach for identifying authentic Mantidis Ootheca species using DNA-based diagnostic marker assays, which enable rapid and precise species identification. The SCAR assays developed in this study will aid in maintaining quality control and promoting the standardization of commercial Mantidis Ootheca products.

Praying mantids (Mantodea: Mantidae) are iconic insects that have captivated biologists for decades, especially the species with cannibalistic copulatory behavior. This behavior has been cited as evidence that insects lack nociceptive capacities and cannot feel pain; however, this behaviorally driven hypothesis has never been rigorously tested at the genetic or functional level. To enable future studies of nociceptive capabilities in mantids, we sequenced and assembled a draft genome of the Chinese praying mantis (Tenodera sinensis) and identified multiple classes of nociceptive ion channels by comparison to orthologous gene families in Arthropoda. Our assembly-produced using PacBio HiFi reads-is fragmented (total size = 3.03 Gb; N50 = 1.8 Mb; 4,966 contigs), but is highly complete with respect to gene content (BUSCO complete = 98.7% [odb10_insecta]). The size of our assembly is substantially larger than that of most other insects, but is consistent with the size of other mantid genomes. We found that most families of nociceptive ion channels are present in the T. sinensis genome; that they are most closely related to those found in the damp-wood termite (Zootermopsis nevadensis); and that some families have expanded in T. sinensis while others have contracted relative to nearby lineages. Our findings suggest that mantids are likely to possess nociceptive capabilities and provide a foundation for future experimentation regarding ion channel functions and their consequences for insect behavior., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest MB, RKG, and JKG report a relationship with Rethink Priorities: consulting or advisory., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Genetics Society of America.)

Praying mantises are the apex insect predators in many ecosystems, nevertheless they receive relatively less recognition in biodiversity reviews. We report a first survey of diversity of praying mantises in Cameroon, which is situated in the Congo Basin region, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots. Combination of light trapping with manual collecting resulted in 495 specimens representing 62 species. A total of eight species are novel for the country, at least five species are likely undescribed. DNA barcodes of 72 specimens representing every collected species were obtained, curated, and submitted to NCBI database. For eight species, barcodes are published for the first time. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was created using all available barcodes of Mantodea of Central African subregion. The results obtained during this study stress the importance of combining traditional and molecular approaches during biodiversity assessments of often neglected taxa, the latter aiding in uncovering new species, resolving unknown morphological divergencies and assigning conspecifics., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Govorov et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) plays an important role in phylogenetic studies of many species. The mitogenomes of many praying mantis groups have been well-studied, but mitogenomes of special mimic praying mantises, especially Acanthopoidea and Galinthiadoidea species, are still sorely lacking in the NCBI database. The present study analyzes five mitogenomes from four species of Acanthopoidea (Angela sp., Callibia diana, Coptopteryx sp., Raptrix fusca) and one of Galinthiadoidea (Galinthias amoena) that were sequenced by the primer-walking method. Among Angela sp. and Coptopteryx sp., three gene rearrangements were detected in ND3-A-R-N-S-E-F and COX1-L2-COX2 gene regions, two of which were novel. In addition, individual tandem repeats were found in control regions of four mitogenomes (Angela sp., C. diana, Coptopteryx sp., G. amoena). For those, plausible explanations were derived from the tandem duplication-random loss (TDRL) model and the slipped-strand mispairing model. One potential motif was found in Acanthopidae that was seen as a synapomorphy. Several conserved block sequences (CBSs) were detected within Acanthopoidea that paved the way for the design of specific primers. Via BI and ML analysis, based on four datasets (PCG12, PCG12R, PCG123, PCG123R), the merged phylogenetic tree within Mantodea was reconstructed. This showed that the monophyly of Acanthopoidea was supported and that the PCG12R dataset was the most suitable for reconstructing the phylogenetic tree within Mantodea., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The recently reorganized classification of Mantodea has made significant progress in resolving past homoplasy problems, although some relationships among higher taxa remain uncertain. In the present study, we utilized newly sequenced mitogenomes and nuclear gene sequences of 23 mantid species, along with published data of 53 mantises, to perform familial-sampling structural comparisons of mantodean mitogenomes and phylogenomic studies. Our rstructural analysis revealed generally conserved mitogenome organizations, with a few cases of tRNA gene rearrangements, including the detection of trnL 2 duplication for the first time. In our phylogenetic analysis, we found a high degree of compositional heterogeneity and lineage-specific evolutionary rates among mantodean mitogenomes, which frequently corresponded to several unexpected groupings in the topologies under site-homogeneous models. In contrast, the topologies obtained using the site-heterogeneous mixture model fit the currently accepted phylogeny of Mantodea better. Topology tests and four-cluster likelihood mapping analyses further determined the preferred topologies. Our phylogenetic results confirm the monophyly of superfamilial groups Schizomantodea, Amerimantodea, Heteromantodea, Promantidea, and Mantidea and recover the early-branching relationships as (Mantoidoidea + (Amerimantodea + (Metallyticoidea + Cernomantodea))). Additionally, the results suggest that the long-unresolved phylogenetic position of Majangidae should be placed within Mantidea, close to Mantoidea, rather than within Epaphroditoidea. Our findings contribute to understanding the compositional and structural diversity in mantodean mitogenomes, underscore the importance of evolutionary model selection in phylogenomic studies, and provide new insights into the high-level phylogeny of Mantodea.

Background: The Chinese praying mantis, Tenodera sinensis (Saussure), is a carnivorous insect that preys on a variety of arthropods and small vertebrates, including pest species. Several studies have been conducted to understand its behavior and physiology. However, there is limited knowledge about the genetic information underlying its genome evolution, digestive demands, and predatory behaviors., Findings: Here we have assembled the chromosome-level genome of T. sinensis, representing the first sequenced genome of the family Mantidae, with a genome size of 2.54 Gb and scaffold N50 of 174.78 Mb. Our analyses revealed that 98.6% of BUSCO genes are present, resulting in a well-annotated assembly compared to other insect genomes, containing 25,022 genes. The reconstructed phylogenetic analysis showed the expected topology placing the praying mantis in an appropriate position. Analysis of transposon elements suggested the Gypsy/Dirs family, which belongs to long terminal repeat (LTR) transposons, may be a key factor resulting in the larger genome size. The genome shows expansions in several digestion and detoxification associated gene families, including trypsin and glycosyl hydrolase (GH) genes, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, and carboxylesterase (CarE), reflecting the possible genomic basis of digestive demands. Furthermore, we have found 1 ultraviolet-sensitive opsin and 2 long-wavelength-sensitive (LWS) opsins, emphasizing the core role of LWS opsins in regulating predatory behaviors., Conclusions: The high-quality genome assembly of the praying mantis provides a valuable repository for studying the evolutionary patterns of the mantis genomes and the gene expression profiles of insect predators., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press GigaScience.)

Mantidis Ootheca (Sangpiaoxiao, mantis egg case) is a typical multi-origin Chinese medicinal material. The Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates that the Mantidis Ootheca originates from three species of Mantis: Tenodera sinensis, Statilia maculate, and Hierodula patellifera. However, Mantidis Ootheca mainly relies on field collection, which leads to confusion of its actual origin in the market. As the clinical use of Mantidis Ootheca with unknown original mantis species will pose potential risks to drug safety, it is necessary to survey the commercially available Mantidis Ootheca origin species. However, as the egg case of Mantis, the morphological characters of Mantidis Ootheca are limited and usually cannot serve as accurate identification tool. DNA barcoding, which is widely used in taxonomic studies of animals, is severely affected by the impact of storage pests and DNA degradation. Thus, this study collected a total of 4580 Mantidis Ootheca and pooled separately Mantidis Ootheca samples according to 18 different sources as DNA samples to analyze the origin diversity of Mantidis Ootheca individuals contaminated by common store pests collected in in the market using DNA metabarcoding, and to provide a basis for quality control of Mantidis Ootheca. 37 Mantis ASVs and 9 Mantis MOTUs were identified through species delimitation, and the high-level intraspecific diversity was depicted as haplotype network plot. Besides Tenodera sinensis and Hierodula patellifera as genuine original mantis species defined in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Tenodera angustipennis was also the origin species of these Mantidis Ootheca samples., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Praying mantids are important models for studying a wide range of chromosome behaviors, yet few species of mantids have been characterized chromosomally. Here we show that the praying mantid Hierodula membranacea has a chromosome number of 2n = 27, and X1X1X2X2 (female): X1X2Y (male) sex determination. In male meiosis I, the X1, X2, and Y chromosomes of H. membranacea form a sex trivalent, with the Y chromosome associating with one spindle pole and the X1 and X2 chromosomes facing the opposite spindle pole. While it is possible that such a sex trivalent could experience different spindle forces on each side of the trivalent, in H. membranacea the sex trivalent aligns at the spindle equator with all of the autosomes, and then the sex chromosomes separate in anaphase I simultaneously with the autosomes. With this observation, H. membranacea can be used as a model system to study the balance of forces acting on a trivalent during meiosis I and analyze the functional importance of chromosome alignment in metaphase as a preparatory step for subsequent correct chromosome segregation., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Praying mantises are distributed all over the world. Though some Mantodea mitogenomes have been reported, an evolutionary genomic and phylogenetic analysis study lacks the latest taxonomic system. In the present study, four new mitogenomes were sequenced and annotated. Deroplatys truncate, D. lobate, Amorphoscelis chinensis and Macromantis sp. belong to Deroplatyidae, Amorphoscelidae and Photinaidae family, respectively. Our results indicated that the ATP8 gene may be lost in D. truncate and D. lobata mt genome, and four tRNA genes have not been found in D. truncate, D. lobata and Macromantis sp. A dN/dS pair analysis was conducted and it was found that all genes have evolved under purifying selection. Furthermore, we tested the phylogenetic relationships between the eight families of the Mantodea, including 35 species of praying Mantis. Based on the complete mitochondrial genome data, it was also suggested as sister to Deroplatyidae + Mantidae, Metallyticus sp., the only representative of Metallyticidae, is sister to the remaining mantises. Our results support the taxonomic system of Schwarz and Roy and are consistent with previous studies., Competing Interests: Co-Author Guy Smagghe is editor for the PLoS one journal and this does not alter the authors’ adherence to all PLoS one Policies on sharing data and materials.

Gene rearrangements have been found in several mitochondrial genomes of Mantodea, located in the gene blocks CR-I-Q-M-ND2, COX1-K-D-ATP8 and ND3-A-R-N-S-E-F-ND5. We have sequenced one mitogenome of Amelidae (Yersinia mexicana) and six mitogenomes of Mantidae to discuss the mitochondrial gene rearrangement and the phylogenetic relationship within Mantidae. These mitogenomes showed rearrangements of tRNA genes except for Asiadodis yunnanensis and Hierodula zhangi. These novel gene rearrangements of Mantidae were primarily concentrated in the region of CR-I-Q-M-ND2, including gene translocation, duplication and pseudogenization. For the occurrences of these rearrangements, the tandem duplication-random loss (TDRL) model and slipped-strand mispairing model were suitable to explain. Large non-coding regions (LNCRs) located in the region of CR-I-Q-M-ND2 were detected in most Mantidae species, whereas some LNCRs had high similarity to the control region (CR). Both BI and ML phylogenetic analyses supported the monophyly of Mantidae and the paraphyly of Mantinae. The phylogenetic results with the gene order and the location of NCRs acted as forceful evidence that specific gene rearrangements and special LNCRs may be synapomorphies for several groups of mantises., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An integrative taxonomic analysis of Hierodula patellifera (Audinet-Serville) is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI, 28S rDNA). During repeated trips to the Korean peninsula, we collected unusual specimens from Wanju-gun. They were similar to H. patellifera, but can be distinguished by a larger body size, the number and shape of spines on foreleg, and the shape of male genitalia. To examine the phenotypes and delimit H. patellifera from fourteen sampled populations, we used forecoxal spines and male genitalia as key morphological characters, as well as molecular data including gene tree monophyly and genetic divergence data. The molecular analyses (p-distance, neighbor-joining, and parsimony analyses) did not separate the specimens as two distinct species. The diagnostic characters of H. patellifera are illustrated with habitus images.

Variations of speciation and extinction rates determine the fate of clades through time. Periods of high diversification and extinction (possibly mass-extinction events) can punctuate the evolutionary history of various clades, but they remain loosely defined for many biological groups, especially nonmarine invertebrates like insects. Here, we examine whether the cockroaches, mantises and termites (altogether included in Dictyoptera) have experienced episodic pulses of speciation or extinction and how these pulses may be associated with environmental fluctuations or mass extinctions. We relied on molecular phylogeny and fossil data to shed light on the times and rates at which dictyopterans diversified. The diversification of Dictyoptera has alternated between (i) periods of high diversification in the late Carboniferous, Early-Middle Triassic, Early Cretaceous and middle Palaeogene, and (ii) periods of high extinction rates particularly at the Permian-Triassic boundary, but not necessarily correlated with the major global biodiversity crises as in the mid-Cretaceous. This study advocates the importance of analyzing, when possible, both molecular phylogeny and fossil data to unveil diversification and extinction periods for a given group. The causes and consequences of extinction must be studied beyond mass-extinction events alone to gain a broader understanding of how clades wax and wane., (© The Willi Hennig Society 2020.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Mantidis Oötheca (mantis egg case; sangpiaoxiao) is a medicine from an insect source, which has been widely used in Asian countries. However, misidentification due to a lack of information given variations in the medicinal portion of the ootheca and morphological similarities of the ootheca as an egg chamber., Aim of the Study: Thus, this study aims to provide the first comprehensive data for discriminating authentic of Mantidis Oötheca. Here, we provide detailed ootheca morphology and their molecular information to accurately identify Mantidis Oötheca., Materials and Methods: Oothecae of Tenodera angustipennis (Saussure, 1869), Tenodera sinensis (Saussure, 1871), Hierodula patellifera Serville, 1839, and Hierodula sp. were used in the comparative morphological, principal component analysis, and DNA barcoding., Results: The morphological analyses revealed that the emergence area, outline, angle of distal end, width of air-filled layer, and weight are useful diagnostic characters. Using these quantitative and qualitative characteristics, we developed the effective identification key. Furthermore, our CO1 sequences from all individuals were monophyletic with high bootstrap values at genus and species levels. Moreover, morphological identification using our developed key among all studied individuals agreed with molecular identification results using CO1 barcoding data., Conclusions: These multilateral approaches, including morphological, statistical, and DNA barcoding methods are highly reliable identification tools. Moreover, our diagnostic key characteristics and molecular barcoding should aid in the accurate identification, authentication, and quality control of Mantidis Oötheca medicinal materials., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest or competing financial interests related to the publication of this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Different mitochondrial gene copies or gene rearrangements are observed in some interspecific mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes), but few in intraspecific mitogenomes. In this study, we sequenced the complete mitogenomes of Statilia maculata and Statilia nemoralis (Mantinae: Mantini). The genetic distance of the whole genomes between these two species was just 0.5%, suggesting that S. maculata and S. nemoralis might be the same species. The mitogenome of S. maculata had five copies of trnR genes (three copies were identical and the other two had some base substitutions), whereas the mitogenome of S. nemoralis had six trnR genes. Five, six or seven tandem copies of trnR genes in S. maculata were found in different localities, respectively. We further sequenced the ND3-ND5 region of fifty individuals hatched from one ootheca (Tianjin) and we found that all individuals had five identical tandem copies of trnR genes and same sequences. Hence, we concluded that different copies of trnR genes can occur in the same species. The mitogenomes of S. maculata and S. nemoralis with other mitogenomes of Mantinae species published were used to construct BI and ML phylogenetic trees. In this study, both BI and ML phylogenetic trees showed that Mantini and Statilia were monophyletic whereas Paramantini was paraphyletic., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Praying mantids are predators that consume a wide variety of insects. While the gut microbiome of carnivorous mammals is distinct from that of omnivores and herbivores, the role of the gut microbiome among predatory insects is relatively understudied. Praying mantids are the closest known relatives to termites and cockroaches, which are known for their diverse gut microbiota. However, little is known about the mantid gut microbiota or their importance to host health. In this work, we report the results of a 16S rRNA gene-based study of gut microbiome composition in adults and late-instar larvae of three mantid species. We found that the praying mantis gut microbiome exhibits substantial variation in bacterial diversity and community composition. The hindgut of praying mantids were often dominated by microbes that are present in low abundance or not found in the guts of their insect prey. Future studies will explore the role of these microbes in the digestion of the dietary substrates and/or the degradation of toxins produced by their insect prey., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The Atlantic Forest is one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots, but the diversification processes of its biota are still poorly known, with competing models attributing dominant roles to either Quaternary climatic changes or geographic barriers. Many studies identify the Doce river as a major phylogeographic break, but the reasons for this phenomenon are highly debated. Here we test the predictions of the refugial and barrier models for a common species of praying mantis, Miobantia fuscata, focusing in the areas immediately south and north of the Doce river. Our analyses show high intraspecific genetic diversity, deep coalescence times and no evidence for recent population expansion. Phylogeographic structure is inconsistent with a refugial hypothesis. Significant gene flow between northern and southern populations also conflicts with a strong role for geographic barriers. This study highlights the need for considering invertebrate taxa to infer recent landscape changes, and points towards a more complex picture of genetic diversification in the Atlantic Forest.

We acquired 21 complete mitogenomes and 6 nearly complete mitogenomes of mantises belonging to 8 families (Hymenopodidae, Iridopterygidae, Mantidae, Metallyticidae, Sibyllidae, Tarachodidae, Thespidae, Toxoderidae) using 14 pairs of mantid specific primer sets and found that 5 species of mantises have duplicate copies (2-4) of trnR: Ambivia undata, Creobroter jiangxiensis, Creobroter urbanus, Phyllothelys sp1. and Theopropus elegans while two novel gene arrangements CR-I-NCR-I-NCR-I-NCR-I-NCR-I-NCR*-Q-M and COII-K*-D*-K-D*-K-D*-K-D were found in Schizocephala bicornis and Stenotoxodera porioni, respectively. The multiple copies of trnR are caused by independent duplications. The gene arrangements in Stenotoxodera porioni with three identical copies of trnK can be explained as mid-way through the TDRL process while the form of gene arrangement in Schizocephala bicornis is unclear. In the phylogeny at the family level, the monophyly of Liturgusidae and Iridopterygidae was supported, whereas the monophyly of Hymenopodidae, Mantidae and Tarachodidae wasn't. The features of mantis mitochondrial genomes including high duplication rates of trnR, trnK and trnI indicate that Mantodea mitochondrial genomes maybe a useful model system for studying gene duplication. However, derived gene arrangements may not be appropriate for phylogenetic inference in Mantodea as they aren't synapomorphy and aren't shared by close relatives., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Praying mantises are a diverse group of predatory insects. Although some Mantodea mitogenomes have been reported, a comprehensive comparative and evolutionary genomic study is lacking for this group. In the present study, four new mitogenomes were sequenced, annotated, and compared to the previously published mitogenomes of other Mantodea species. Most Mantodea mitogenomes share a typical set of mitochondrial genes and a putative control region (CR). Additionally, and most intriguingly, another large non-coding region (LNC) was detected between trnM and ND2 in all six Paramantini mitogenomes examined. The main section in this common region of Paramantini may have initially originated from the corresponding control region for each species, whereas sequence differences between the LNCs and CRs and phylogenetic analyses indicate that LNC and CR are largely independently evolving. Namely, the LNC (the duplicated CR) may have subsequently degenerated during evolution. Furthermore, evidence suggests that special intergenic gaps have been introduced in some species through gene rearrangement and duplication. These gaps are actually the original abutting sequences of migrated or duplicated genes. Some gaps (G5 and G6) are homologous to the 5' and 3' surrounding regions of the duplicated gene in the original gene order, and another specific gap (G7) has tandem repeats. We analysed the phylogenetic relationships of fifteen Mantodea species using 37 concatenated mitochondrial genes and detected several synapomorphies unique to species in some clades., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

The giant Asian mantis Hierodula formosana (Mantodea: Mantidae) is widely distributed in Taiwan. In the present study, we investigated the complete mitochondrial genome of H. formosana and the mitogenome is 16 266 bp in length. The circular molecule consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a non-coding control region, with an AT content of 75.8%. An extra non-coding region is inserted between trnM and ND2, similar to the other Mantidae species T. tamolana. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis has been carried out with 11 related species and the status of Hierodula formosana is further confirmed.

Ultrasonic fragmentation, which is a simple and convenient method for the mechanical degradation of DNA, is widely used in modern genome studies as one of the sample preparation steps. It has been recently found that the DNA breaks occur more often in the regions containing 5'-CG-3' dinucleotides. We studied the influence of the 5'-CG-3' dinucleotides on the efficiency of the 28S rRNA gene amplification during PCR with sonicated DNA of Mantis religiosa. It was shown that the amplification rate depends on the template length and the number of 5'-CG-3' dinucleotides. Amplification of the DNA regions with a higher 5'-CG-3' density is less efficient because of their higher sensitivity to ultrasound. The amount of the amplified DNA templates is inversely proportional to the 5'-CG-3'number.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Leptomantella albella Burmeister (Mantodea: Iridopterygidae) is sequenced to analyze the gene arrangement. It is a circular molecule of 15,534 bp in length including 37 genes typically found in other insects. Gene arrangement is similar to Tamolanica tamolana (Insecta: Mantodea) and comprises 13 protein coding genes, two rRNA genes (12S and 16S rRNA) and 22 tRNA genes. The AT content of the overall base composition is 73.7%. The length of control region is 684 bp with 81.9% AT content. Protein-coding genes begin with ATG as start codon except ND3, ND5, ND6, ATP8 and ATP6 with ATA. COI, COII, ND5, ND4L and ND1 end with TAG as stop codon, while COIII, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND6, ATP8, ATP6 and Cyt b end with TAA.

Both market research and literature reports both found that the ootheca of mantodea was all used as medicine. However, Chinese Pharmacopoeia only records the ootheca of three mantis species. The clinical use of ootheca unrecorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, will pose potential risks to drug safety. It's urgent to identify the origin of Mantidis Oötheca. The current researches about original animal in Mantidis Oötheca are based on morphology and unanimous. DNA barcoding fill gaps of the traditional morphological identification, which is widely used in animal classification studies. This study first use DNA barcoding to analyze genetic distance among different Mantidis Oötheca types, align COI sequences between mantis and Mantidis Oötheca and construct the phylogeny tree. The result confirmed that Tenodera sinensis and Hierodula patellifera were the origin insects of Tuanpiaoxiao and Heipiaoxiao, respectively, and Statilia maculate and Mantis religiosa were the origin insects of Changpiaoxiao.

Understanding the origin and diversification of organisms requires a good phylogenetic estimate of their age and diversification rates. This estimate can be difficult to obtain when samples are limited and fossil records are disputed, as in Dictyoptera. To choose among competing hypotheses of origin for dictyopteran suborders, we root a phylogenetic analysis (~800 taxa, 10 kbp) within a large selection of outgroups and calibrate datings with fossils attributed to lineages with clear synapomorphies. We find the following topology: (mantises, (other cockroaches, (Cryptocercidae, termites)). Our datings suggest that crown-Dictyoptera-and stem-mantises-would date back to the Late Carboniferous (~ 300 Mya), a result compatible with the oldest putative fossil of stem-dictyoptera. Crown-mantises, however, would be much more recent (~ 200 Mya; Triassic/Jurassic boundary). This pattern (i.e., old origin and more recent diversification) suggests a scenario of replacement in carnivory among polyneopterous insects. The most recent common ancestor of (cockroaches + termites) would date back to the Permian (~275 Mya), which contradicts the hypothesis of a Devonian origin of cockroaches. Stem-termites would date back to the Triassic/Jurassic boundary, which refutes a Triassic origin. We suggest directions in extant and extinct species sampling to sharpen this chronological framework and dictyopteran evolutionary studies.

Past and recent climatic changes induced shifts in species ranges. Mantis religiosa has also expanded its range across Germany within the past decades. To determine the ancestry of German M. religiosa we sequenced four mitochondrial genes (COI, COII, Cyt b, ND4) of European M. religiosa populations. We found an east, central and west European lineage of M. religiosa. These distinct lineages are consistent with genetic isolation by distance during glacial periods, and the re-colonization of northern parts of Europe by species from different refugia. Within Germany, we found haplotypes clustering to the central and west European lineage suggesting that M. religiosa immigrated from two directions into Germany. Mismatch distributions, and negative Tajima's D and Fu's Fs values indicate a current range expansion of the central and west European lineage. We hypothesise that ongoing global warming which increases the availability of thermally favourable areas in Germany for M. religiosa adds to its current range expansion. In conclusion, M. religiosa colonized Germany via two directions: west German populations descended from French populations and east German populations from Czech populations.

The Neotropical praying mantis genus Miobantia Giglio-Tos, 1917 currently includes six species with a complex taxonomic history. Although frequently found in the atlantic forest of Brazil, little is known about these species. Several obstacles make it difficult identifying these mantids, including high levels of sexual dimorphism and both sexes known only for one of the six currently known species. The taxonomic boundaries among the species of Miobantia are proposed in this work, through a cladistic analysis using 99 morphological characters, and the analysis of sequence variation of approximately 700 bp of the mithocondrial gene COI for association of dimorphic sexes and nymphs. Additionally, an investigation of intraspecific variation is conducted based on a large number of specimens of M. fuscata (Giglio-Tos) in oder to choose the most relevant features for the separation of the species to be used in taxonomic descriptions and identification keys. The male of M. aptera Giglio-Tos, and the females of M. ciliata (Stål) and M. fuscata are described for the first time, and redescription of the males of these and the female of M. aptera, are provided based on additional data. Miobantia nebulosa (Giglio-Tos) is herein redescribed (male genitalia included) and proposed as a junior synonym of M. rustica (Fabr.). Additionally, four new species are here described, totaling nine species for the genus: M. immanis n. sp. (Espírito Santo, Brazil), M. arctissima n. sp. (Espírito Santo, Brazil), M. sulista n. sp. (Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; San Bernardino, Paraguay), and M. nordestina n. sp. (Bahia, Brazil); both sexes of all new species are described, except for M. arctissima, which remain known by males only. Identification keys and figures of diagnostic features are provided for both males and females of all valid species. The species distribution is mapped according to literature data and 50 new records.

The genus Apteromantis Werner, 1931 comprises two species of wingless mantids, the Iberian A. aptera (Fuente, 1894) and the North African A. bolivari (Werner, 1929). Although A. aptera and A. bolivari have been traditionally considered as separate and valid species, their external appearance is quite similar and no comprehensive taxonomic study has analyzed their morphological and genetic characteristics. This taxonomic uncertainty has important implications for conservation because A. aptera is considered an Iberian endemic and the only praying mantis protected by international laws. In this study, we apply a comprehensive approach, including quantitative morphological and molecular analyses, to shed new light on the taxonomic and conservation status of the genus Apteromantis and the putative species. We have found that the Iberian and North African specimens analyzed herein significantly differ in female head shape, male genitalia morphology and several other traits related to body size. Molecular data suggest the presence of two main lineages, with sequence divergence rates of approximately 4 %, which are within the range reported for other well defined insect species. Overall, this study supports that A. aptera and A. bolivari are valid species despite their ecological and morphological similarity and highlights the importance of comprehensive approaches to resolve old taxonomic and conservation problems.