ABSTRACT

Popa spurca

(Stål) (Deroplatyidae) is a well-known species within the African Mantodea. Because this species is often kept as pets, several citizen-based platforms provide information on the rearing of this species. There is however no scientific information available on the distribution and biology of this species. The aim of this study was to use museum records to establish the historic distribution of P. spurca in southern Africa and specifically South Africa, and to investigate its biology under captive breeding and rearing conditions. A total of 212 specimen records of P. spurca were recorded during a survey of all Mantodea in the national museum collections in South Africa. The results suggested that the distribution of this genus seems to be largely associated with the Savanna biome in South Africa. The average lifespan of a P. spurca individual was 332 ± 62 days adult longevity was significantly longer in females. Oothecae contained an average of 84 ± 30 eggs and the mean incubation period was 35 ± 4 days. This study contributes to the understanding of the historic distribution and biology of P. spurca which has never been studied before in southern Africa.

中文翻译：

---

非洲细枝螳螂科（Mantodea：Deroplatyidae）在南部非洲的历史分布和生活史

摘要

罂粟花

(Stål) (Deroplatyidae) 是非洲螳螂目中的著名物种。由于该物种经常被当作宠物饲养，一些基于公民的平台提供有关该物种饲养的信息。然而，没有关于该物种的分布和生物学的科学信息。本研究的目的是利用博物馆记录确定P. spina在南部非洲，特别是南非的历史分布，并调查其在圈养繁殖和饲养条件下的生物学。共212个P. splashca标本记录在对南非国家博物馆藏品中的所有 Mantodea 进行调查期间记录下来。结果表明，该属的分布似乎在很大程度上与南非的热带草原生物群落有关。P. splashca个体的平均寿命为 332 ± 62 天，雌性的成年寿命明显更长。Oothecae 平均含有 84 ± 30 个卵，平均孵化期为 35 ± 4 天。这项研究有助于了解以前从未在南部非洲研究过的P.spurca的历史分布和生物学。