There are no native mantids in the UK.
Marshall & Haes (1988) refer to only one record of a possible migrant which was recorded by Ragge (1965). This was a Mantis religiosa which may have made its own way from France in 1959.
However, there are are obviousy canse of holiday makers bringing back mantids accidentally or by choice. Mantids can also be accidentally imported in other ways.
A female Ameles spallanzania (Rossi, 1792) was found in a garden centre in Chesterfield in May 2001; it is beleved to have hitched a ride on a consignment of imported earthenware garden ornaments. This female is shown below (click on image for enlarged view).
