Bug FAQGrey Mantis
Ameles decolor · Order: Mantodea · Family: Amelidae
Also called: Dwarf Mantis, Mediterranean Dwarf Mantis
The Grey Mantis is a small praying mantis, with males 18 to 27 mm and females 19 to 28 mm long. It lives in shrublands, grasslands and wooded areas across the Mediterranean basin, from central Europe to northern Africa. Adults appear in July and can be seen until October.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Its body and eyes are ochre, sometimes with a small tubercle at the eye tip, and males have a narrow white stripe on the front wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males measure 18 to 27 mm and females 19 to 28 mm, making it a small mantis species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers herbaceous vegetation, shrubland, grassland, arid fields, maquis and garrigue habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The species undergoes incomplete metamorphosis; nymphs are short-winged, females stay short-winged, while males develop full wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Egg masses are always laid under stones.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults emerge around July and remain active until October.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be confused with Ameles heldreichi, which has rounder eyes and genitalia, and with Ameles massai, which has longer front wings, a shorter pronotum, and different genital shape.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell a Grey Mantis apart from similar species?
Look for ochre eyes with a possible tubercle, a narrow white stripe on the male's front wings, and compare eye shape and genitalia to Ameles heldreichi, or wing length and pronotum size to Ameles massai.
Source: Wikipedia
When are Grey Mantises active?
Adults are typically present from July through October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the Grey Mantis originally from?
It is native to the Mediterranean region, including countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Albania, Algeria and others.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Amelidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameles_decolor
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.