Mantids (Insecta: Mantodea) of Uttar Pradesh, India

: Several surveys of mantid fauna from eastern Uttar Pradesh, India were carried out during the period 2017–2019. The collected materials include 21 species of 17 genera from six families and nine subfamilies. The Family Mantidae contributed the highest numbers of mantid fauna. In total, 10 species of mantis are reported for the first time from the present Uttar Pradesh (after division of the state) while Tenodera c ostalis (Blanchard, 1853) is recorded for the first time from the country.


INTRODUCTION
Mantids are one of the important groups of predatory insects of different agroecosystems.Mantids are also called preying mantids due to their preying ability.They are sometime confused with the mantisflies of the order Neuroptera.Mantids are grouped in the superorder Dictyoptera because of their more closeness to cockroaches and termites while forelegs of mantids are raptorial type which is not identical to the forelegs of cockroaches and termites.Globally, 2,384 species under 434 genera of 15 families are known (Ehrmann & Roy 2002) while Otte et al (2020) listed 2,400 species from 430 genera; in which more than 169 species, 71 genera, and 11 families are known from India of which 60 species are endemic to the country (Mukherjee et al. 2014).Mantids are a key agent of natural and biological control in most of the terrestrial ecosystems due to their sophisticated behaviour and modifications.They are easily identified by their raptorial forelegs, triangular head, visible eyes, and large cerci.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The present exploration was made from a series of surveys of the several locations in Uttar Pradesh, India from 2017 to 2019.The study sites were located in different areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh (Table 1).The mantids were collected by sweeping net, light trap, and handpicking methods.After photography, most of the mantids were released to avoid the loss of biodiversity issue.The collections were made during morning and night hours, i.e., 07.00-10.00h and 20.00-22.00h, respectively.Some of the collected materials were killed in the killing bottle containing ethyle acetate.Subsequently, materials were cleaned with hair brush, pinned and relaxed (as per need) on the handmade stretching board of thermocol.It was kept for more than 60-72 hours for drying to avoid spoilage of the specimens.The identification was made based on the morphological and genitalic features.The specimens collected were deposited in the Department of Agricultural Entomology, R.M.D. College and Research Station, Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, India.The classifications were made according to Mukherjee et al. (2014).The coordinates of the survey sites are presented in Table 1.

RESULTS
Biodiversity of surveyed mantids from Uttar Pradesh are presented here in figure 1 and their checklist is as below.Diagnosis: Vertex without protuberance; eyes oblong; pronotum broad, fore femur simple with four sharplong external and four discoidal spines; mid and hind legs have without lobes; wings brightly coloured, longer than abdomen, with dark line along the outer border (Vyjayandi 2007).
Measurement: Body length 25mm Remark: The specie is more common in bushes but not frequent in my collection.Diagnosis: Vertex without protuberance; frontal sclerite narrowed in the form of a groove, superior border wavy, a little arched in the middle; inferior border with a slightly elevated ridge; margin of pronotum bearing small tubercular spines.In forelegs external spines of femora blackish near their tips and proximal two of them closer, tibiae with 10 J TT internal spines of same colour (Sureshan et al. 2006).
Diagnosis characters: Female: Body medium to large, body greenish with yellow spot on the fore wing; winged forms; head trapezoidal, vertex of head with a small mid dorsal spine, squarish with prominent lateral lobes; eyes conical, black band with white tips, projecting upwards; antennae slender, filiform; ocelli conspicuous; pronotum saddle shape, shorter than fore coxae, supra coxal dialation well pronounced, prozona laterally denticulated, spatulate with central indistinct carina, metazonal constriction well pronounced; Coxae of fore legs triangular dorsally with eight obtuse marginal spines, middorsal carina with spines, internal apical lobes converging; femur longer than coxa, with four external, four discoidal, (third longest and stoutest,) with six longer internal and seven shorter internal spines, two distal longer internal spines enclose two shorter spines; tibia with 16 smaller, depressed external spines, 14 longer internal closely arranged spines; metatarsus as long as all other tarsal segments together; middle and hind femur twice as long as mid tibia, with semi-circular, distal ventral lobe, with two genicular spines; tibia with three distal genicular spines; wings longer than abdomen; costal and anal areas of forewing transparent, forewing with yellow band bordered by two black semi-circular rings like an eye spot and placed in the middle of the both wings, this eye mark enclosed black dots, usually two; base of forewing with a yellow spot also, the hind wing with pink at base, yellowish in costal area and brownish in discoidal and anal areas.
Measurement: Body length 34mm Remark: The species was very attractive and colourful.Diagnosis: External edge of fore femur denticulated, internal face of forefemur spines black, inferior internal lobes contain three yellow to white spots encased by black patch; black patch absents at upper border and very thin below near base; tarsi internally black; pronotum dorsomedially black, Distribution: India (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh (earlier record from Dehradun, Uttarakhand) (Mukherjee et al. 1995(Mukherjee et al. , 2014)), Uttar Pradesh, (new record)) and Nepal.

Yadav.
Diagnosis: Vertex with protuberance; fore femur arched, foliaceous, external edge smooth with three black spots on superior margin and one near the spine in middle Mukherjee et al. 1995;Ghate et al. 2001;Vyjayandi 2007).

Measurement: Body length 29mm
Remark: Inner side of fore femur is orange in colour and ornamented with three inner black spots.Diagnosis: Small black species with triangular head having five lobes in vertex and blackish frontal sclerite along with continuous black band; pronotum short and rhomboid in shape; fore femur slightly bulged, externally 4 discoidal and internally 5 large (completely black) and 5 short spines with three blackish band on inner side of femur as well as on tibia black; anal vein of fore wing three branched in female.

Humbertiella similis
Diagnosis: Small brown species with frontal sclerite brown with less arched superior edges; pronotum with less prominent protuberances; in fore femur internal spines black at tips only.Irregular veinules in the costal area of fore wing, wings smoky and longer than body.
Measurement: Body length 37mm Remark: Brown coloured species.Diagnosis: Long and slender mantid, green coloured.Antenna thickened toward base; eyes anteriorly prolonged forming cone shape.Fore femur with four external and three discoidal in which second is longest one; tibia shortened with six external spines.Forewing very small and opaque in female (Majumder et al. 2015).
Diagnosis: Body slender, much elongated; antenna very much elongated, pronotum nearly equal or longer than fore coxae.Fore femora with four discoidal and four external spines, laterally smooth; 1 st discoidal spines shorter than 2 nd .Both wings well developed; hind femora with apical spine; anal cerci conical and hind wing with reddish transverse veinlets in costal area (Raut & Gaikwad 2017).
Diagnosis: Body slender, soft green in colour, much elongated; frontal sclerite much wider, rather a double curved edge on the upper side; antennae medium-long, brownish to body colored; Fore coxae smooth or partial spines in male, In female finely denticulate, the apex of the femur spines black; fore femora with four discoidal and four external spines, laterally smooth; 1 st discoidal spines shorter than 2 nd .Both wings well developed, slightly longer than body; hind femora with apical spine.Pronotum little dilated anteriorly keeled in its middle, finely denticulate on its edges, especially in its anterior portion, metazona of the pronotum slightly longer or in similar length to the fore coxae; fore wing long, rather narrow, acuminate, all the anterior part slightly darker, discoidal area of male is hyaline, in female one third the densely veined, the hind wings are adorned with black basal spot, costal area blood-stained, discoidal area transverse venules dark/smoky, anal area dark/smoky, hyaline areas with irregular fenestrae (Giglio-Tos 1912& 1927).

Hierodula coarctata
Diagnosis: The prosternum and mesosternum with red coloured transverse band were found.The supra coxal dilation of pronotum was broader than male and prozonal tubercles on edges were comparatively stronger than the male.The metazona with distinct median carina was there.The forefemur was dark green with dark patches on inner side.The forefemur has black coloured larger spines and discoidal spines also.Wings were mostly similar with male.Male: The body colour of male was green.The head was triangular; eyes were rounded with prominent ocelli.The supra coxal dilation of the pronotum was somewhat wide.The prozona has some finer tubercles.The metazonal carination was not clear.Externally, forefemur was green in colour.Larger spines of forefemur were black in colour.The meso and meta thoracic legs are yellowish green in colour.The forewing was green in colour and veins were green with yellow coloured subcosta.There were yellowish to white colour stigma surrounded by brownish colour patches on the forewing.

Subfamily: Mantinae
Diagnosis: Pronotum a little longer than fore coxa, prosternum has two small tubercles just to the base; shorter when compared to that of Statilia Stal, fore coxa internally with a basal black spot which often encloses an oval yellow spot, fore femora without black spot; a distinct transverse pink line on the vertex, prominent in fresh specimen.Claw groove of femora in the middle; fore wing semi-hyaline and both wings shorter to body.
Measurement: Body length 57mm Remark: Species shows aggression when disturbed.Diagnosis: Body brownish, pronotum slender, longer than fore coxa, claw groove of fore femora situated above middle, four external and four discoidal spines, inner disc with pale yellow and black patches; tibiae with seven external spines; femora with shining yellow patch, often bordered by a black patch, larger internal spines of femora not entirely black, wings as long as abdomen.
Diagnosis: Body dark in coloured middle and hind tibiae dorsally carinated, eyes prominent with a very small dorsal tubercle, upper edge of vertex concave, fore leg external spines and eight internal spines, wing is shorter than abdomen, middle and hind femora without geniuclar spines, cerci foliaceous, longer than wide.
Diagnosis: Fore femora without lobe and superior edge almost straight; middle and hind femora without dorsal lobes, vertex prolonged into a conical protuberance, armed medially and laterally by triangular sharp spines, apex little expanded and biflog with a median carina extended into sharp point; antennae simple in female and pectinate in male; pronotum slender, slightly spined; forewing little

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Biodiversity of mantids of Uttar Pradesh.Relative abundance (in percentage)

.
Measurement: Body length 58mm Remark: Male & female were mostly similar.