🦗 Giant praying mantises invade Europe

In European parks and gardens, a previously unknown silhouette is now part of the landscape: giant praying mantises. Their presence reveals a notable ecological shift. These insects, originating from Asia, are gradually transforming established natural balances.

Their advance across the continent is both rapid and extensive. Observed for about a decade, the mantises Hierodula tenuidentata and Hierodula patellifera have colonized Mediterranean regions and are continuing their journey northwards. Evolving climate conditions provide them with favorable environments, allowing the establishment of stable populations far beyond their native range. They are thriving even in urban green spaces, where passersby can easily spot them.


These newcomers are not limited to simply cohabiting with local species. Their reproductive performance is particularly high: a single egg case can release nearly two hundred young, a number significantly larger than that produced by the native European praying mantis. This high fertility, combined with reduced cannibalism among juveniles, explains the rapid increase in their numbers.

Their highly diverse diet increases their potential impact on the ecosystem. These arboreal hunters capture a wide range of prey, including essential pollinating insects like bees. More unexpectedly, they also capture small protected vertebrates, such as lizards or tree frogs. Their predation techniques even interfere with the reproduction of local praying mantises, luring native males into encounters that are usually fatal for them.

Environments altered by human activities favor their spread. Urban heat islands extend their period of activity, and installations like insect hotels concentrate their prey in one place. Predators like domestic cats partially limit their proliferation but cannot stop it.


Citizen science projects have enabled the gathering of thousands of observations, drawing a precise map of these insects' progression. This direct involvement facilitates monitoring. When winter arrives and trees lose their leaves, it becomes possible to identify and manually remove egg cases, provided one knows how to differentiate them from those of beneficial species.