Gongylus gongylodes
Gongylus gongylodes
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Mantodea
Family:	Empusidae
Genus:	Gongylus
Species:	G. gongylodes
Binomial name
Gongylus gongylodes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Gryllus gongylodes Linnaeus, 1758 Gongylus flabellicornis Fabricius, 1793

Gongylus gongylodes, also known as the wandering violin mantis, ornate mantis, or Indian rose mantis, is a species of praying mantis in the family Empusidae. Characterized by extremely slender limbs with large appendages, it is not a particularly aggressive species^{[citation needed]} and often kept as a pet. The mantis is especially known for swaying its body back and forth to imitate a stick flowing in the wind.^[1] It primarily feeds on flying insects. Its native range is in southern India and Sri Lanka.^{[citation needed]} It can reach up to 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The males of the species are capable of flight. They are a communal species, in that they are able to live and breed in large groups, without unnecessary cannibalism.^{[citation needed]} Adult females are about 10cm (3 in) and adult males are about 9 cm.^{[citation needed]}

Its specific name gongylodes means "roundish" in Greek,^[2] from the same word as its generic epithet Gongylus.

They are found in India, Java, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.^[3]

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  G. gongylodes
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  G. gongylodes
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  G. gongylodes
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  G. gongylodes
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  Violin mantis at Madikai Ambalathukara, Kerala, India
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  Violin mantis

• Media related to Gongylus gongylodes at Wikimedia Commons

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