Life history and population characteristics of the mantid Stagmomantis carolina (Mantodea : Mantidae)

We investigated the life history and populations characteristics of the Car olina mantid,. Stagmomantis carolina (Johannson), in central Arkansas. Unli ke several studies on other mantid species found in the United States, this species was found at very low densities in the field as measured by adult abundance and ootheca density. We found that mortality was high during the egg stage because of developmental failure or egg parasitism. In replicated field plots, mortality and emigration was high during the Ist and 2nd stad ia, resulting in very low numbers of in-plot survivors (<1%) by the 3rd sta dium of development. Synchronous versus asynchronous hatching had statistic ally significant effects on emigration and in-plot mortality but a nonsigni ficant effect on in-plot survival, although the trend was for increased sur vival in asynchronous plots. Although arthropod abundance tended to be lowe r in mantid plots, S, carolina had no significant effects on total arthropo d abundance, total arthropod biomass, or the abundance and biomass of any a rthropod order. Laboratory experiments indicated that this species has slow er development during the egg stage and slower development during the nymph stages compared with related mantid species. This slow growth may in part explain the high mortality rate and therefore explain the low density of S, carolina found in this population. However, this growth strategy seems nec essary for survival because it allows for proper timing of oviposition for a univoltine life cycle in central Arkansas. Comparative studies of this sp ecies in other portions of its range would be interesting in determining th e generalities of our findings.