Description of Panay specimens

Male: Body length 52.5–54.0 mm. Coloration brownish, varying from tan to dark brown, femora of walking legs mostly greenish in life (Figs. 1, 10–12). Chromatic elements usually more expressed in dark-colored specimens, while they can become almost obsolete in tan individuals.

Head (Fig. 2) 3.0–3.3 mm long and 5.0–5.1 mm wide. Eyes slightly kidney-shaped, exophthalmic. Vertex slightly convex, juxta-ocular bulges flat, not protruding, separated from vertex by a deep sulcus. Two very shallow sulci between midline of vertex and juxta-ocular sulcus. A transverse, semicircular sulcus between anterior part of vertex and ocellar region. Ocelli large, forming an isosceles triangle with an angle of about 90°. Frontal shield wider than high, pentagonal, with a marginal ridge and two faintly indicated dorso-ventral ridges; depressed parts slightly darker. Clypeus and labrum keeled, dorsal part of the keel widens into a triangular elevation at dorsal margin of clypeus. A dark band is running from posterolateral to antera-medial margin of the eyes, continuing along antera-lateral parts of gena and mandible until the tip of the labrum, where it forms a right angle with the opposite band. Maxillary palp segments darkened ventrally, labial palp segments dark with light brown apex, except of last segment, which is fully blackish. Antennae filiform, 29–31 mm long, longer than half of body length. Scapus light brown (matching body coloration), pedicellus and first 13–15 segments light brown with a dark stripe, which becomes successively wider until it encompasses the whole segment. Remaining segments blackish.

Pronotum slightly sinuate dorso-ventrally (Fig. 3), brownish, with numerous small dark spots, 19.8–21.4 mm long and 2.75–2.85 mm wide at supracoxal dilatation, minimum width of metazona 1.70–1.85 mm. Margins denticulate along entire length, teeth suffused with black, slightly longer along prozonal margin than on metazona. Length of prozona 3.5–3.8 mm, of metazona 16.3–17.8 mm, ratio metazona/prozona 4.4–4.9. Prozona with a deep longitudinal sulcus just before supracoxal dilatation, with several tubercles on both sides of the midline. Metazona keeled, more or less semi-circular in cross-section anteriorly, becoming progressively more triangular towards posterior end. Supracoxal dilatation with two well-developed tubercles just behind coxal insertion, sometimes with a very minute tubercle just posterior of main tubercle. Posterior margin of metazona with two rounded tubercles. Basisternum tuberculate (see also Shcherbakov 2012), latero-posteriorly produced into a pyramidal projection. Prosternum orange-brown, with small dark spots towards posterior end, two pale, more or less seed-shaped callous spots at its distal fourth (very conspicuous in dark specimens), and two pale tubercles just before its distal margin.

Fore legs slender. Fore coxae much shorter than metazona, triangular in cross-section, 9.6–10.2 mm long, with numerous dark spots and two weakly expressed pale bands posteriorly, orange-brown anteriorly. Dorsal margin darker proximally, with 7–9 very small teeth interspersed with a few even smaller teeth. Teeth and surrounding area whitish. Apical lobes adjacent, but not overlapping. Anterior femora 11.1–11.7 mm long and 1.3–1.5 mm wide, dorsal margin very indistinctly serrulate, slightly sinuate, posterior side mottled with brown, except of two very indistinct pale bands (barely discernible in some specimens), and numerous dark spots. Anterior side pale, very indistinctly banded. Claw-groove at middle of femur. Ventral side of femur with a row of small tubercles between base and second discoidal spine. Four discoidal spines, with third the longest and first about the same length as fourth. Four postero-ventral spines, and an additional small spine on genicular lobe. Fifteen to seventeen antero-ventral spines plus an additional one on the genicular lobe, 16 being the regular number. Regular spination formula iIiIiIiIiIiIiiiI (see also Hebard 1920). The three distal discoidal spines as well as the long antero-ventral spines (except the apical one) bendable, all spines darkened in their apical half. Anterior tibiae 6.1–6.3 mm long, with 10–11 postero-ventral and 16–17 antero-ventral spines increasing in length distally.

Meso- and metathorax pale brown with dark spots, metathorax with a DK ear (see >Yager & Svenson 2008). Mid and hind coxae with a dark stripe anteriorly, darkened latero-posteriorly. Mid and hind femora slightly inflated at base, greenish in life, with dark spots and two weakly developed annulations, one at middle and a second, wider and more pronounced one at the apex. Apical lobes well-developed, genicular spines present, but small. Mid tibiae slightly shorter, hind tibiae slightly longer than corresponding femora, with two barely discernible pale annulations. Metatarsus distinctly longer than remaining segments combined.

Wings reaching apex of abdomen (Fig. 1), usually as long as, but in some specimens slightly longer or shorter than apex of subgenital plate. Tegmina 30.4–32.9 mm long and 5.7–6.6 mm wide, 1.5–1.6 times as long as pronotum, with rounded apex. Costal field and the very tip of the wing opaque, remaining parts subhyaline, mottled with smoky. Proximal part of costal field 1.5–1.8 mm wide, then quickly tapering towards radial vein, becoming very narrow. Stigma very small and indistinct, oblique, ivory anteriorly, black posteriorly. Alae subhyaline, mottled with smoky, costal field and apex opaque.

Abdomen parallel-sided, with numerous dark spots and a pair of paramedian dark depressions on each sternite. Supra-anal plate rounded. Cerci surpassing subgenital plate, moniliform, with 15–16 segments, last segment subacute. Subgenital plate trapezoid, with short, spaced apart styli.

Genitalia (Fig. 6, see also Shcherbakov 2012) strongly pigmented, right dorsal phallomere without peculiarities, distal part roughly triangular. Ventral phallomere with a proximal lobe on its right side, left distal side strongly sclerotized, continuing into a hook-like distal process, strongly curved to the right and with acute apex. Left dorsal phallomere with moderately slender apical process and a strongly sclerotized, claw-like phalloid apophysis curved to the left and covered by strong spines along its entire right side.

Female: Longer and more robust than males, with strongly brachypterous wings (Figs. 1, 11). Body length 63.4–71.0 mm. Coloration much more variable than in males, from grayish white or tan with almost no pattern, to dark brown with contrasting tan bandings (Figs. 8–9). Two paramedian pairs of dark oblique markings are present on the metazona, one just behind the supracoxal dilatation, the second in the posterior fourth of the pronotum. Some specimens also feature a dark median stripe along the pronotum. The markings are more obvious in darkcolored specimens (Fig. 9). The greenish walking leg femora observed in males are not seen in females.

Head (Fig. 2) 4.15–4.60 mm long and 6.00–6.25 mm wide. Vertex higher and more rounded than in males, parietal sulcus less deep. Ocelli very small, forming a broad angle, lateral ocelli connected with frontal ocellus by a small ridge. Marginal ridge of frontal shield more strongly expressed, frontal shield deeper. Palps pale, only indistinctly banded. Antennae 15–17 mm long, filiform, pale.

Pronotum more robust and more sinuate than in males (Figs. 1, 3), dark-spotted, 28.0–29.8 mm long and 4.00– 4.55 mm wide at supracoxal dilatation, minimum width of metazona 2.30–2.85 mm. Pronotal margins distinctly serrate, the longer teeth interspersed with 1-3 slightly smaller teeth. Larger teeth black ventrally. Prozona 5.2–5.6 mm long, strongly tuberculate. Metazona 22.7–24.2 mm long, 4.3–4.6 times as long as prozona, keeled, triangular in cross-section, tuberculate laterally and particularly along the keel. Tubercles at supracoxal dilatation heavily developed, with a smaller anterior and a longer posterior process, the latter 0.7–0.9 mm long, with black apex. Prosternum as in male, basisternal process more strongly developed, callous spots comparatively more distal.

Fore legs (Fig. 5) more robust than in male. Coxae about half as long as prothorax, 13.5–14.5 mm long, more distinctly banded, more strongly tuberculate along the ventral margin, dorsal margin whitish, with 7–8 blunt teeth interspersed with smaller teeth. Apical lobes slightly overlapping. Anterior femur 15.6–16.9 mm long and 2.20– 2.35 mm wide, with some tubercles. Dorsal margin serrulate, sinuous. Posterior side with a more distinct banding. Spination formula as in males. One female shows a supernumerary postero-ventral spine of small size, a very uncommon aberration in cernomantodeans. Anterior tibia 8.0–8.8 mm long, with 10–12 postero-ventral and 16–18 antera-ventral spines.

Meso- and metathorax patterned like in the male, with a DNK ear. Mid and hind legs somewhat inflated at base, brownish, dark-spotted and with two annulations. Mid and hind tibiae as in the male.

Wings very short, barely reaching second abdominal tergite. Tegmina 9.8–10.4 mm long and 4.6–5.1 mm wide, 0.35–0.37 times as long as pronotum, opaque. While the costal field is always of a light tan, the color of the discoidal field may vary and usually corresponds to the coloration of adjacent abdominal tergites (Figs. 1, 8–9, 11). Costal field 1.7–2.0 mm wide, evenly rounded. Jugal veins black. Alae (Fig. 4) very short, costal and discoidal field wine-red, except the very tip, which is light brown, anal field black.

Abdomen slightly widening towards apex (Figs. 1, 8–9). Tergites with a small keel and a dark median mark at posterior end of segment, with a paramedian pair of blackish depressions (barely discernible in some specimens), and a second, more rounded pair of depressions laterocaudad from the first. Sternites dark-spotted, and with a paramedian blackish pair of depressions. Supra-anal plate with sinuous margins and rounded apex.

Ootheca (Figs. 7,15,17,19–20): Elongate, trapezoid in cross-section, and of a pinkish-tan color. There is only one layer of eggs arranged into four rows (less towards the ends), so width and height of the egg-bearing part are fairly constant, while its length depends on the amount of eggs deposited by the female. The anterior and posterior ends are devoid of eggs and narrow into a slightly undulating tip of varying length. The measurements of two typical egg-cases are: total length 39 and 70 mm, length of egg-bearing part 23 and 48 mm, width 5.4 and 6.7 mm, height 5.2 and 5.8 mm, respectively. Nymphs emerge on the dorsal side by pushing apart the thin, alternating, slablike lamellae of the exit zone. However, oothecae are usually deposited on the underside of leaves, so nymphs hang downwards when emerging.

First instar (Fig.20): Relatively large compared to both the size of the egg and of the adult. The measurements of a typical first instar specimen are: length of body 19.5 mm, length of head 1.5 mm, width of head 2.55 mm, length of antennae 10.5 mm, length of pronotum 7.9 mm, of prozona 1.5 mm, of metazona 6.4 mm, width of pronotum at supracoxal dilatation 1.3 mm, fore coxae 3.3 mm, fore femora 4.1 mm, fore tibiae 2.1 mm, mid femora 5.05 mm, mid tibiae 4.5 mm, hind femora 6.3 mm, hind tibiae 6.2 mm.

Coloration patterns, particularly leg bandings, more distinct than in adults. Frontal shield more transverse, about twice as wide as high. Head with trapezoid blackish pattern on both sides of the coronal suture, and a blackish spot on juxtaocular bulges. Additional blackish spots on posterior side of head. Pronotal margins smooth, prozona blackish anteriorly, additional black spots on metazona where tubercles would appear in later instars. Prosternum with an interrupted submarginal blackish stripe. Mesoternum with a median stripe, two shorter paramedian stripes, and a lateral stripe on each side. Dorsal margin of fore coxa with a multiply interrupted black line. Anterior side with four dark spots: a very distinct subbasal one, a very weakly expressed one at proximal fourth, a weakly pronounced one at middle, and a very conspicuous ellipsoid one subapically. Fore femur with five spots along antera-ventral margin: near base, just proximal of claw groove, just distal of claw groove, at 12^th antera-ventral spine, and distal of femoral brush. All spines of the tibiofemoral armature emerge from distinct, more or less conical sockets. The first discoidal spine is morphologically different from the remaining three: it is a thin and elongate seta almost as long as the third discoidal spine. Anteroventral and postero-ventral spines of same number as in adults, arranged in a similar fashion. Fore tibiae with 10 postero-ventral and 14 regular antero-ventral spines plus a very small seta proximally. Hind metatarsus twice as long as remaining segments combined.

Diagnosis

The discovery of females 140 years after the male was described further corroborates the validity of the genus Tagalomantis, resurrected from synonymy by Roy (2001), and confirmed by Shcherbakov (2012) after the study of the male genitals. Aside from a different number of postero-ventral spines on the fore tibiae, females of Tagalomantis are easily distinguished from those of Euchomenella, among other characters, by the possession of two prominent tubercles on the pronotum, by a less elongate prothorax (less than half of body length), and by the color of the hind wings. Tagalomantis is distinguished from Indomenella Roy, 2008 by a more elongate prothorax (ratio metazona/prozona 4.3–4.9 vs. 3.2–3.8 in Indomenella), a different number of postero-ventral spines on the fore tibiae, the pair of pronotal tubercles, and by differently shaped and colored wings in both males and females.

The males of the Panay population exhibit slight morphological differences when compared to specimens from the type locality. Thus, body size is greater than on Luzon: pronotum length 19.8–21.4 vs. 18.7–19.5 mm, tegmen length 30.4–32.9 vs. 27.0–28.5 mm. The only available published body length of Luzon males is the 50 mm given by Hebard for his specimen. The 30 mm in Shcherbakov (2012) are a typographic error; the true length of the specimen is 46 mm (Shcherbakov pers. comm.). Also, the 58 mm published by Saussure (1870) for the type seem to have been inaccurate considering its pronotum length and proportions in this species; an estimate comparable to Hebard's specimen can be considered more likely. Additionally, in Panay specimens the discoidal and anal fields of both wings are more infumate and more mottled distally than in Luzon specimens. The pronotal tubercles are very small and indistinct in Luzon males, while they are rather prominent in Panay specimens (Fig. 3). Also, the number of the posteroventral spines of the fore tibiae is slightly below the values observed in Luzon specimens (10–11 vs. 11–12).

However, the values of the only known Luzon female fall into the range of Panay specimens: body length 65 mm, head width 6.1mm, pronotum length 27.4 mm, pronotum width 3.8 mm, tegmen length 9.5 mm. The ratio pronotum length/body length (0.42) compares to Panay females (0.42–0.46). The specimen has 10–11 postero-ventral spines on the fore tibiae. Its pronotal tubercles are more weakly developed than in Panay specimens. Whether these differences in tuberculation, male body size, and male wing color justify a subspecific separation of the Panay population must await the study of more Luzon specimens, in order to evaluate the morphometric ranges of the species. Also, neighboring islands like Mindoro and Negros should be screened for the occurrence of additional populations. Anyhow, the genitalia of Luzon and Panay specimens are virtually indistinguishable.

Habitat

Tagalomantis manillensis is a forest species. Despite several cumulative months of sampling activity in all types of available habitats, this species has never been encountered in heavily degraded woodland and open areas. However, it is not confined to primary forests, but also found in old secondary and plantation forests, as long as they provide closed canopy conditions. Yet, T. manillensis avoids deep shade but is found at locations where sunflecks penetrate the canopy and provide a slightly warmer and drier microclimate. For this reason, abundances in secondary forest understorey may be higher than in primary forest, due to a lower and less structured canopy. Most specimens at Sibaliw were actually found in the secondary forest surrounding the station, while only very few were encountered in the adjacent primary forest. Whether this is due to overall lower abundances, a diluting effect of the structurally richer understorey, or to activity shifts of the mantids to higher strata (and out of the range of the observer) in primary forests remains unknown at the time. In this context it is to be noted that the secondary forests concerned were all adjacent to or enclosed by primary forest, and thus may experience a constant influx of specimens from the primary forest source. Isolated secondary forests did not produce specimens so far.

Preferred perches are more or less filigree plant assemblages like climbing screw and rattan palms, or fern thickets. Living plants are a prerequisite, while dead plant material, although contributing to their camouflage (Fig. 14), is not. A mixture of both provides the best perch opportunities: while living plant tissue attracts potential insect prey, decaying plant matter nearby provides concealment from predators during daytime. For example, one extensive bracken field building up the ground cover in a part of the secondary forest around Sibaliw harbored a substantial Tagalomantis population over the whole course of the study. Bracken thickets provide a good mixture of living and dead plant tissue and are not too shady, while allowing the mantids to conceal themselves underneath the fronds. However, the species is also found in trees, tree ferns, and among vines and epiphytes.

T. manillensis has generalistic diet requirements. Captive individuals will catch any prey item of appropriate size, and can be maintained on standard prey taxa welltried in praying mantid culturing techniques (Yager 1999, Hessler et al. 2008, McMonigle 2013), that is Diptera, Zygentoma, Orthoptera, Blattodea, and Lepidoptera. In nature, an important part of their diet is made up of orthopterans (Fig. 12).

Daily activity rhythms

During daytime the mantids choose a highly cluttered perch, usually closer to the ground or inside vegetation, which conceals them from optically oriented predators. By night activity is higher, and the mantids tend to sit more exposed in the vegetation, or, in the case of adult males, actively search for potential mates. Thus, searching for the species by night is more promising. Individual specimens could be encountered at the same or a nearby place on consecutive nights, while a search by day at the same spot often failed to produce the specimen. Main activity time for males when engaged in long-distance searching for females seems to be just after sunset, as most individuals arrived at the station lights between 18.30 and 19.00 h. This is considerably earlier than other species from the same habitat, which used to arrive between 20.30 and 21.30 h (e. g. Amantis aeta Hebard, 1920, Haania sp., Leptomantella lactea [Saussure, 1870], Hierodula sp.).

Figs. 1–2.

Tagalomantis manillensis. - 1. Dorsal habitus, ♀ (left) and ♂ (right). 2. Head, anterior view, ♀ (left) and ♂ (right). - Scale bars: 10 mm (1), 1 mm (2)

Figs. 3–5.

Tagalomantis manillensis. - 3. Prothoraces of two ♀♀ (top and center) and ♂ (bottom) in lateral view. 4. Hind wing of ♀. 5. Fore leg of ♀ in posterior (left) and anterior view (right). - Scale bars: 5 mm.

Figs. 6–7.

Tagalomantis manillensis. - 6. Male genitalia, ventral view. 7. Ootheca in dorso-lateral and dorsal view. - Abbreviations: afa = phalloid apophysis; ap = apical process (titillator); dp = distal process; lph = left phallomere; rph = right phallomere; vph = ventral phallomere. - Scale bars: 1 mm (6), 10 mm (7).

Figs. 8–13.

Tagalomantis manillensis, life appearance. - 8. Light-colored ♀ without patterning. 9. Disruptively mottled ♀ (note oblique markings on pronotum). 10. Adult ♂ (note greenish walking legs). 11. Pair in copula. 12. Subadult ♂ eating tetrigid orthopteran. 13. Second instar nymph.

Defense mechanisms

Switching between night and day perches is only one of the species' defensive repertoires. Its morphology plays an important part as well. Despite being less elongate than its relative Euchomenella, Tagalomantis also belongs to the ‘long-bodied stick-mantis’ ecotype (sensu Edmunds 1976; see also Robinson 1969b, 1990, Edmunds & Brunner 1999). This holds particularly true for nymphs (Figs. 12–13) and adult females (Figs. 8–9, 11, 14–17), while adult males (Figs. 10–11) are less stick-like due to their fully developed wings. Nevertheless, they are also camouflaged by their cryptic color pattern. The species is polyphenic and able to adopt the color and pattern of its background during ontogeny. While fully green individuals have not been encountered (and probably do not exist), the observed colors range from light tan to dark brown, with a disruptive pattern being non-existent to highly developed (Figs. 8–11).

The specialized morphology is enhanced by behavioral components. Robinson (1969a, 1969b) and Edmunds (1972) point out that mantids do not use special cryptic resting positions by day like many katydids and phasmids, because such a position does not allow for a quick predatory strike with the fore legs in case of an approaching prey item. Due to their good eye-sight (Maldonado et al. 1970, Rossel 1979, Kral 1999, 2012) mantids can afford to assume the cryptic position only when a predator approaches and spend the rest of the time ready to strike at prey. In the case of Tagalomantis, there are several ‘concealing postures’ that may be used interchangeably, even by the same individual, upon signs indicating the approach of a potential predator (object movements, substrate vibrations).

Pressing against the perch: when approached by a potential threat the mantid brings its body in close proximity to the substrate it hangs on. This reduces betraying shadows and, in case of leaves as perch, visibility from above. Fore legs are closed under the body, while the position of other legs may vary. In its most expressed form, the walking legs are protracted and kept in line with the body axis. While the mid legs are bent forward, the hind legs are outstretched backwards. This represents one of two types of full stick attitudes.

Figs. 14–18.

Tagalomantis manillensis, life history aspects. — 14. ♀ (at center) camouflaged among dry bracken fronds. 15. ♀ in stick attitude (type I) (note protracted fore and mid legs and flattened abdomen). 16. ♀ in stick attitude (type II) (note bent body and angled fore femur). 17. ♀ in stick attitude (type I) hiding behind ootheca. 18. Enlarged pronotum of ♀ showing mossy overgrowth.

Figs. 19–20.

Tagalomantis manillensis, brood care. — 19. Egg-guarding posture (note position of antennae and mossy overgrowth on cuticle). 20. Same ♀ after emerging of nymphs.

Hiding behind perch (Fig. 17): like above, but with the difference that the mantid moves on the opposite side of the perch (as viewed from the predator's perspective) and conceals itself behind it. When the predator changes position with respect to the mantid's resting place, the mantid follows, keeping the perch between itself and the disturbance.

Turning to the side (Fig. 15): if the resting place does not allow the mantid to employ one of the two strategies described above, that is, if it is not concealed from view, it flattens the abdomen dorso-ventrally and turns the slim side towards the predator. As in case of hiding behind the perch, when the disturbance changes position, the mantid turns in such a way that it always presents the slim side. This behavior is intended to decrease the betraying outline of an insect body by enhancing stick resemblance and as such is a component of true masquerade.

Fore leg stretching (Fig. 16): like in the previous case, this behavior comes into play when the mantid cannot conceal itself from view. The body is kept in place, but sometimes bent to a certain degree, and the fore legs are stretched forward. While the coxae are adjacent, the femora can adopt two different configurations. They are either both kept in line with the coxae and the fore body, or one of the femora is bent at an angle away from the body (‘side branch effect’). The head is concealed by turning it to the side, so that its width is kept in line with the body axis. This represents the second type of complete stick attitude.

In all these cases, the mantid keeps the head turned towards the disturbance. As can be seen from the examples, the range of primary defenses in this species spans the whole range from crypsis to true masquerade (for definitions see Edmunds 1990, Endler 2006, Skelhorn et al. 2010, Diamond & Bond 2013). In spite of the occasionally exhibited stick attitude, the first two strategies are better classified as cryptic, since the background-matching color pattern together with the evasive behavior decrease visibility (and hence discovery). The last two strategies come into play when the first two cannot be employed and are not intended to conceal the mantid's presence, but to signal inedibility through stick resemblance (Robinson 1969a, 1969b, Edmunds 1972, 1976, Edmunds & Brunner 1999). The same effect also disguises specimens resting against a non-matching background (e. g. plain green vegetation).

Tab. 1.

Brood care in Mantodea. — AT = Afrotropical; MD = Madagascan; OR = Oriental; NT = Neotropical.

In case of increasing threat, the mantid may jump off the substrate, run, or (in case of males) fly away. A partial deimatic display was observed only once. In this species it seems to be rare, and perhaps employed mainly against similar-sized conspecifics and small predators, interactions which were both not witnessed during the study.

Reproduction and brood care

Despite several dozen individuals encountered over the course of the three years, only one copulation could be witnessed in nature (Fig. 11). Captive individuals refused to mate. The copulation is typical for mantids and shows no peculiarities. On the other hand, this species exhibits brood care in the form of ootheca guarding (Figs. 15, 17–20). This behavior is more common in mantids than recognized previously, and since Polak's (1933) and Faure's (1940) first mention of the phenomenon, a substantial amount of species has added to the list, although most records are scattered in the literature or not published at all. A compilation is given in Tab. 1.

Tagalomantis females deposit their oothecae on the underside of elongate leaves or fern fronds. Then they position themselves with the prothorax above the newlyformed egg-case, and spend most of the incubation time of around five weeks in that position. The antennae are bent towards the ootheca, each antenna passing at some distance from the lateral margin of the egg-case without touching it (Fig. 19). The female does not need to feed during this time, but if a prey item happens to pass by at close distance, it will leave the ootheca to capture it. Upon finishing its meal, the female returns to its egg-case reassuming the guarding position. Despite guarding efforts, oothecae are sometimes raided and destroyed by ants.

Because of the stationary habits during egg-guarding, some parts of the body, particularly pronotum and walking legs, might be overgrown by algae and mosses to a certain degree (Figs. 18–19).

Epizoic growth has so far only been reported in the neotropical leaf mantid genus Choeradodis by Lücking et al. (2010). T. manillensis females in the wild can lay and guard two or more oothecae during their lifetime, so epizoic growth, once established, may accumulate over the months. In general, however, it is not very common, and most encountered Tagalomantis females were devoid of it.

Nymphs hatch during early morning hours (N = 5) and will aggregate on and around the mother for the next two to three days (Fig. 20). When the first nymphs start to disperse, the mother leaves egg-case and remaining nymphs behind and looks for another perch. Whether lack of aggression against the nymphs persists beyond this stage could not be evaluated in the wild. However, on more than one occasion nymphs of different developmental stages were encountered at a small distance from an adult female, presumably the mother, in the same bracken thicket. These casual observations in the wild clearly deserve further study.

Phenology

Both nymphs and adults are basically found yearround. Field data obtained so far suggest about five weeks incubation time and four months postembryonic development. This seems to indicate a bivoltine generation cycle, but yet lacking development data gained from laboratory cultures are needed to validate this assumption. Average longevity in the wild is not known, but individual females attained a life span of at least four to five months, during which 2–3 oothecae were laid. The lack of a severe dry season in combination with long adult life span (of females at least) are probably the reason why distinct phenological patterns are not seen in Panay populations of this species.