Tenodera australasiae
Purple-winged mantid at Harrison, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Tenodera australasiae | Curiosity | 3 Feb 2026 | |
| Tenodera australasiae | WendyEM | 29 Jan 2026 | |
| Archimantis sp. (genus) | AndyRoo | 28 Jan 2026 |
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User's notes
GPSed. Length ~100-110mm.
5 comments
30 Jan 2026
Thanks @WendyEM. Yes it looks like it fits perfectly. I was a bit lazy - I based my initial suggestion on a moderator ID for a previous sighting at this site which was Archimantis sp. (genus) - see https://canberra.naturemapr.org/sightings/4687880. I think I need to get this previous sighting ID reviewed.
30 Jan 2026
I am not an expert. My look into this made me think that Archimantis sp. (genus) has short wings while Tenodera australasiae
has long wings. Your specimen and the one you refer to are much more colourful specimens (brown hues) than I am used to for Tenodera australasiae. Looking again the wing length may be a gender thing in Archimantis sp. (genus) (males long wings), like I said, I am no expert. However, the bight green eyes and green stripe along the wings indicates Tenodera australasiae. I have scanned through the 'Research Grade' images for the 8 Archimantis sp. on iNat and could only find green stripes on wings (adults) in 2 shots. They seem to have brown eyes.
has long wings. Your specimen and the one you refer to are much more colourful specimens (brown hues) than I am used to for Tenodera australasiae. Looking again the wing length may be a gender thing in Archimantis sp. (genus) (males long wings), like I said, I am no expert. However, the bight green eyes and green stripe along the wings indicates Tenodera australasiae. I have scanned through the 'Research Grade' images for the 8 Archimantis sp. on iNat and could only find green stripes on wings (adults) in 2 shots. They seem to have brown eyes.
2 Feb 2026
Thanks Wendy. Yes the green eyes and green stripe along the wings appear to be distinguishing factors. Hopefully an expert moderator on Mantids will chime in soon?
3 Feb 2026
Location information
- Coordinates 149.147058-35.207438
- Altitude 610.0m
- Maps Budjan Galindji (Franklin Grassland) Reserve
- Places Harrison, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 10 Mar 2023 12:32 PM Recorded on
- AndyRoo Recorded by
- Wild oats (Avena sp.). Associated plant
- 50mm or larger Animal size
Collections
- AndyRoo NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Tenodera australasiae Praying mantises (Mantodea) Insects
Species information
- Tenodera australasiae Scientific name
- Purple-winged mantid Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1003.3m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location