native mantis ambushing insects from a motionless pose
- Size
- Length: 4–7 cm
- Lifespan
- 6–12 months
- Diet
- Predatory: feeds on moths, flies, crickets and other insects. Ambush predator that waits motionless for prey to approach, then strikes with lightning speed using raptorial forelegs.
- Habitat
- Throughout country in gardens, shrublands and forest edges. Prefer sunny spots where they can bask while waiting for a meal to wander into their strike zone.
- Range
- Throughout North and South Islands in gardens, shrublands and forest edges. Most common in lowland areas with diverse insect prey and sunny spots for basking and hunting.
- Endemism
- Endemic
- Main Threats
- Competition from introduced South African praying mantis (Miomantis caffra) is primary threat. Introduced mantis is larger, more aggressive and preys on native mantis males. Native mantis now rare in urban gardens.
- Population
- Currently under siege by introduced South African praying mantis, which is larger, more aggressive and prone to eating native males. This silent displacement poses significant risk to local populations in urban gardens.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
A masterpiece of minimalist design. While the rest of the world has mantises that look like dead leaves, tropical flowers or sticks, the whe is a clean, vibrant New Zealand green, though occasionally straw-coloured. It is built like a folding knife, with a sleek, aerodynamic body and a pair of serrated, lightning-fast raptorial front legs.
Its most distinctive feature, the ID card that proves its native status, is a vivid, electric-blue spot on the inside of its front legs. If you see a mantis without this blue heraldry, you are looking at the South African invader. The life of a whe is a high-stakes game of statue. They are ambush predators of the highest order, using their large, compound eyes to track movement with terrifying precision.
They are one of the few insects capable of turning their heads 180 degrees to look over their own shoulder, a feat that makes them look unsettlingly intelligent. When a fly or moth gets within reach, the mantis strikes in about 30 milliseconds, faster than a human eye can blink. It then uses the rows of interlocking spines on its forelegs to pin the prey in a lethal grip, beginning its meal while the victim is still very much aware of the situation.
However, the native whe is currently losing a biological war of the roses. The introduced South African mantis has arrived with a more aggressive reproductive strategy. When a male native whe accidentally approaches a female South African mantis, she does not mate with him. She eats him.
Unlike the native females, who rarely practice sexual cannibalism, the South African females are notorious for it. This fatal attraction is leading to a massive decline in native populations in urban gardens, as our local males are literally being lured to their deaths by the wrong pheromones. Protecting the whe starts with recognition.