Abstract
Only one species of this order, the praying mantis (Mantis religiosa Linné, 1758), occurs in Central Europe. The praying mantis is distributed in Southern and Central Europe, Asia (as far as Japan) and Africa.
It has been introduced into both North and South Americas (Bolivia, Jamaica, the United States and Canada) and Australia. The northernmost limit of its distribution range in Europe stretches out to the latitude of 53°N and passes through Belgium, the northern part of Germany, the southern part of Poland, Ukraine and Russia.
Occasional findings are known from as far as Latvia. In the Czech Republic, the praying mantis has long been regarded as a rare thermophilic element with its distribution restricted to the warmest locations of South Moravia.
In late August, in September or October, females of this species deposit about 200 eggs into cocoons (oothecae), which they place onto stones and sturdier residues of plants close to the ground. Larvae hatch from the eggs in the spring, and gradually moult into adults.
The adult or nearly adult individuals again appear in the late summer. In this period, praying mantes are also easier to find, which is useful for potential biomonitoring.
In recent years, the praying mantis has been increasingly expanding to the northern part of Moravia and the Czech part of Silesia. It has been observed as far as the Polish borderline.
In Bohemia, it was considered to be an alien, introduced species, only reported from the area surrounding the town of Třeboň in the 1960s. However, since 2000, this species has been regularly monitored at several localities of Polabí (an area along the river Elbe).
The species has also demonstrably proved to develop in many of those localities. Over the last twenty years, it is very probable that the praying mantis has been propagating quite rapidly across the whole of Moravia to the warmest parts of Bohemia, populating ever new localities.
Yet its distribution has been scattered so far, mostly associated with reasonably conserved and naturally valuable habitats. Therefore, the species ought to be still regarded as a valuable element of the Czech Republic's fauna, deserving appropriate protection