Differential Spectral Adaptation in Praying Mantises

Abstract Praying mantises often display elaborate camouflage, disappearing into the shapes, textures, and colors around them. But they have largely been thought to be monochromats, unable to perceive the colors they mimic. To examine this, we tested the compound eye spectral sensitivity of three species of praying mantises, each representing unique mimicry strategies: Theopropus elegans , Popa spurca , and Hymenopus coronatus . We quantified mantis sensitivity to light, ranging from 350 to 650 nm wavelength, using electroretinograms under both dark and chromatic adaptation. We find distinct sensitivity peaks that suggest the presence of multiple photoreceptor types or varying expressions of visual pigments across the species studied. T. elegans and P. spurca exhibited potential trichromatic vision, with primary sensitivity peaks in green (515–520 nm), and secondary and tertiary peaks in ultraviolet (340–360 nm) and blue (442 nm and 413 nm). Conversely, H. coronatus displayed a simpler dichromatic pattern. This suggests praying mantises have the capacity for color vision, likely adapted to enhance camouflage and predatory efficiency in their environments.