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Family Amorphoscelidae
- This page contains pictures and information about Spiny Bark Mantids that we found
in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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 - Female, body length 25mm
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- Spiny Bark Mantids have prominent short spines on the head behind eyes and
on pronotum. They
are hard to find for they are well camouflaged. We found them a
few times in different Eucalypt forests around Brisbane. They were always found on large tree
trunk, include smooth bark, ironbark, stringy bark, paperbark and even burnt
tree trunk.
-
 
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- There are two known species in genus Gyromantis, the G. kraussi and
G. occidentalis. The later only found in north of Western
Australia.
-
- Their body colours camouflage very well on those tree trunk. They are pale
brown in colours with dark brown patterns. Their legs are banded.
Nymphs
   - Male body length 20mm
-
- Late summer in Alexandra Hill on a large gum tree trunk.
we found this silvery-grey Bark Mantid. This mantid has large developing wing
buds.
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   -
- This mantid has pinkly-red patches on inter forelegs.
 
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- Another Spiny Bark Mantid found in Karawatha Forest. This one has smaller
wing bud but larger abdomen. We believed it is a female.
-
 
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- They were usually found standing still on tree trunk.
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Female Adults
- As most insect species, we met much more female than male Spiny Bark Mantids.
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  -
- Hunting on gum tree trunk, this mantid was slow moving, even when disturbed.
-
 
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- This female adult had the fully developed wings, although too small for
her to
fly. In Bark Mantids family Amorphoscelidae
only males can fly.
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- Female lay eggs in oothecae, which is
long and narrow and is attached on tree trunks.
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  -
Male Adults
 - Body length 30mm
-
- Adult males are fully winged. They are even harder to find. We found the male
only once in Karawatha Forest. It was hunting on a large smooth bark gum
tree trunk. It was late summer Feb 2008.
-
- Reference:
- 1. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, pp 353.
- 2. Gyromantis - Tree of Life Project, 2005
- 3. Gyromantis Giglio-Tos, 1913 - Australian Biological Resources Study.
- 4. Grasshopper country: the abundant orthopteroid insects of Australia
- David C. Rentz - 1996, p234, 240.
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