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Luminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Hierodula membranacea
Mantodea / Mantidae
Hierodula membranacea is a large praying mantis with a visual system adapted to detecting prey and judging its distance. A single row of pale tubercles on the inner bases of its grasping forelegs is a useful identifying character.
Read the species accountHierodula membranacea Burmeister, 1838 belongs to Mantidae, subfamily Hierodulinae and tribe Hierodulini. It is the type species of the genus Hierodula. [1]
On the inner face of each foreleg base, small whitish tubercles form a single straight row parallel to the upper margin; the remaining surface is smooth. Hierodula confusa has additional tubercles scattered across that surface. The male genitalia also differ between the two species. [1]
Specimens collected at Chittur, Kakayam and Gavi document the species in Kerala, India. These include females collected in 2013 and nymphs collected in 2015, deposited in the Zoological Survey of India’s Western Ghat Regional Centre. [5]
Experiments including Hierodula membranacea identified visual neurons that respond to the difference between the images received by the two eyes. Their strongest responses occurred at image disparities corresponding to prey within striking distance. This supplies a neural basis for binocular depth perception in mantises. [3]
Microscopy of male reproductive cells found 27 chromosomes, including two X chromosomes and one Y. During sperm formation, the two X chromosomes moved together to one daughter cell and the Y to the other. Live imaging showed that this separation occurred alongside the ordinary chromosome pairs. [2]
A three-dimensional reconstruction of a female brain distinguished 42 regions of the cerebrum. Mapped visual neurons connected parts of the optic lobe to central brain regions, with separate pathways for small moving objects and motion across a larger visual field. [4]
Burmeister established Hierodula and its type species in 1838. The two male syntypes of Hierodula membranacea are held in Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde. [1]
Keep the enclosure closed and display it in indirect light, away from heat and damp conditions. Handle the frame by its edges and clean only its exterior according to the maker’s instructions.
Vermeersch and Unnahachote; Belgian Journal of Entomology 103, 1–13 (2020) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Paliulis, Stowe, Hashemi, Pedraza-Aguado, Striese, Tulok, Müller-Reichert and Fabig; PLOS ONE 17(8), e 0272978 (2022) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Rosner, von Hadeln, Tarawneh and Read; Nature Communications 10, 2845 (2019) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Althaus, Exner, von Hadeln, Homberg and Rosner; Journal of Comparative Neurology 532(3), e 25607 (2024) · Accessed 2026-10-11
P. M. Sureshan; Records of the Zoological Survey of India 125(S 1), 59–77 (2025), treatment 41, p. 71; original treatment archived by Plazi · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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