Mantoida maya Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 (New country record) [CD, BD]

Type locality. Mexico: North Yucatan, Temax.

Material examined. BZE: Belize Dist. 3 ♂, 2 ♀, collected by light trap in the vicinity of Tropical Education Center., BZE: Cayo Dist: 5 ♂, collected in same method as above 3 ♂ collected by hand on branches, in the vicinity of Las Cuevas Research Station.

Liturgusa maya Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 [BD, SC]

= Liturgusa charpentieri Giglio-Tos, 1927

Type locality. Mexico: N. Yucatan, Temax.

Material examined.1 ♂, 2 ♀ collected by hand in the vicinity of Tropical Education Center, 1 ♀ collected by hand in the vicinity of T.R.E.E.S. Field Station.

Remarks. See Fig. 2E.

Liturgusa zoae Svenson, 2014 [TD]

Type locality. Guatemala: Alta V. Paz.

Material examined. None.

Remarks. Record from Svenson 2014.

Acontista cordillerae Saussure, 1869 (New country record) [SC]

Type locality. French Guiana: St. Laurent du Maroni.

Material examined. BZE: Stann Creek Dist.: 1 ♀ collected by hand in the vicinity of Bocawina Rainforest Resort.

Remarks. This species is widely distributed in the Neotropics with records from Brazil to Mexico (Ehrmann 2002). Given records in nearby countries, there are likely other Acontista species in Belize, further sampling is required.

Acanthops elegans Lombardo & Ipollito, 2004 (New country record) [CD]

Type locality. Guatemala: Morales.

Material examined. BZE: Cayo Dist.: 1 ♀ collected by hand in the vicinity of Las Cuevas Research Station.

Acanthops godmani Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 [BD]

Type locality. Belize: unknown.

Material examined. BZE: Belize Dist.: 2 ♂ collected at light trap, 1 ♀ collected by hand in the vicinity of Tropical Education Center.

Remarks. See Fig. 2C, D.

Pseudacanthops caelebs (Saussure, 1869) [SC, CD]

Type locality. Mexico: Veracruz, Orizaba

Material examined. BZE: Stann Creek Dist.: 1 ♂ collected at light trap in the vicinity of Toucan Ridge Education and Ecology Society • BZE: Cayo Dist.: 5 ♂ collected at light trap in the vicinity of Las Cuevas Research Station.

Only one species was previously known in Belize, A. godmani (Lombardo and Ippolito 2004; Patel and Singh 2016a, 2016b). Given that the species is found in tropical and subtropical habitats, it is no surprise that it was collected in the drier T.E.C. Acanthops elegans was seemingly restricted to tropical broadleaf rainforests and was described from specimens from the tropical rainforests of Guatemala and Costa Rica by Lombardo and Ippolito (2004). One adult female and one nymph were collected at Las Cuevas Field Station, on low hanging tree branches (<3 m off the ground).

Given that C. rhombicollis is found from the Western Andes to southern Mexico, it seems to be restricted to broadleaf rainforests. Sightings of individuals from tropical mixed forests were reported from T.E.C. by the employees of the site. However, given the confusion of insects by citizen scientists and lack of physical specimens, we do not officially note its presence at this location. This species can be found in Mexico in a few non-rainforest habitats, as recorded in iNaturalist. These individuals tend to be smaller with a less conspicuous pronotum, possibly indicating foliage as a selecting force on morphology. Males were collected at lights from T.R.E.E.S and Las Cuevas Research Station. Individuals were seemingly absent from Bocawina; however, this is likely due to inadequate sampling rather than the species’ absence.

This genus is represented by one species. Populations of Mantoida maya showed noticeable variation in size and coloration across the different habitats where they were occurred. In T.E.C., individuals were several millimeters smaller and had a black and white coloration. However, in Las Cuevas, individuals (when alive) were blue as well. It appears that adults may mimic in color pattern and behavior some ichneumonid wasps (see subtribe Mesostenina). The observed variation in size and coloration could be based on selective pressures to better mimic the local wasp species. Mantoida were very common and were found typically on branches 2–3 m above ground at night. Individuals readily flew to lights and headlamps.

Musoniola rapax is the only species in this genus that we collected and included only two adult females and one adult male. The adult male was collected from a light trap low to the ground, but the females were collected on low foliage and on the ground at Las Cuevas Field Station, possibly indicating a lifestyle as forest floor hunting insects.

Seemingly only one species of Phasmomantis was collected in Belize, P. sumichrasti. Unexpectedly, P. sumichrasti oothecae displayed morphological differences based on habitat. We were able to confirm the two oothecae were of the same species. From the population at T.E.C., an adult female of P. sumichrasti laid an oothecae in captivity, which we were able to match with wild-collected oothecae. For the population from Las Cuevas Research Station, we were able to find images from Belizean citizen science pages of adult females laying matching oothecae (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1425989061003132, Creatures of Belize). The wild-collected oothecae both hatched during the trip, and the first instar nymphs were seemingly identical. While first instar morphology is fairly homologous within genera, we feel that the evidence found and examination of genitalia from adult males confirm that these two populations are of the same species.

Phasmomantis sumichrasti did not show much preference for any habitat and was found in tropical broadleaf forest, tropical savannah, and mixed tropical forest. However, all individuals were collected relatively close to the ground (<1.5 m). The differences in oothecae morphology are highlighted below in Figure 4. In the broadleaf forest at Las Cuevas Research Station, oothecae had a hollow space between the outer layer and the eggs, within which we found nesting Camponotus planatus Roger, 1863 in both oothecae collected. Given that C. planatus is a generalist in terms of nest sites, it is possible that the rainforest populations developed this varied structure in response to environmental conditions, and the ants opportunistically took advantage of this space to nest. Unexpectedly, the ants did not consume the eggs. Further research is needed to determine whether this is a type of defensive mutualism, as the ants readily emerged from the oothecae to defend their nest when disturbed.

Only adult males were collected in Las Cuevas Research Station, but these individuals were around 5–10 mm longer than individuals collected in T.E.C. and had a slightly larger eyespot on their hind wings. Males were darker in color. The genitalia examined exhibited only minor morphological differences. The combination of these differences suggests a possible early case of speciation, which will need to be further examined.

This species’ distribution was similar to Choeradodis rhombicollis in Belize. Multiple males were collected at lights in both T.R.E.E.S. and Las Cuevas Field station. Females have not been collected and are undescribed, leaving microhabitat preference unknown for both sexes. Females of other species are noted to hang upside down from mossy branches in the wild (Lombardo et al. 2013). It is not surprising that only males, which are readily found at light traps, were collected. Given the crypsis of this genus, nymphs and adult females are rarely collected, as they are difficult to locate visually and are not attracted to light traps.

Pseudomiopteryx infuscata was commonly encountered and found in nearly every sampled location. Adult females were only collected at T.E.C. and Bocawina, but males were found at all other locations. Most males were perched on or underneath foliage at the edge of the forest at night. It seems elevation does not affect the distribution of the species, as this species has been recorded from multiple locations in Central America at varying elevations and on various types of foliage, indicating the adaptability of this species.

The genus Stagmomantis shows incredible morphological and ecological diversity (Maxwell 2014), and their distribution in any given habitat is also varied. Stagmomantis fraterna was found frequently at T.E.C. and was found anywhere from 2–5 m above the ground on small shrubs, trees, and other foliage on and under leaves. Stagmomantis carolina was also common at T.E.C. and was found 2–3 m off the ground on various shrubs and trees. Stagmomantis carolina tended to stick more closely to the stems and trunks of the foliage and was found in both T.E.C. and T.R.E.E.S. Stagmomantis heterogamia was collected only at Las Cuevas Field Station, atop large, broadleaf plants, 5–8 m above the ground, and were found only when pulling the plants down to view the tops of the leaves.

We found both species of Vates at lowland locations. The genus was absent at Las Cuevas Research Station (elev. 650 m), although more sampling will have to be done in order to rule out their presence at higher elevation sites. Almost all individuals were found at lights in T.E.C. and T.R.E.E.S., making it difficult to glean information on microhabitat preference. Vates chopardi was collected in T.E.C., whereas Vates pectinicornis was collected in T.R.E.E.S. Given that V. chopardi is found in Mexico, it appears to be restricted to arid and subtropical zones. Svenson et al. (2016) noted the possible synonymy between V. pectinata and V. chopardi, which is plausible given their overlapping distribution and morphological similarity. Neither of these species has been previously recorded from Belize, however. They are speculated to be a canopy dwelling group (Julio Rivera pers. comm.)

The following are species that have not been found, but possibly occur in Belize, based on records (Ehrmann 2002; Patel and Singh 2016a, 2016b; Patel et al. 2016) in nearby countries (Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala): Angela championi Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Angela miranda Saussure, 1871, Hondurantemna chespiritoi Rodrigues et al., 2017, Oligonyx bicornis Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonyx bidens Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonyx dorhnianus Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonyx maya Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonicella bolliana Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonicella punctulata Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonicella scudderi Saussure, 1870, Oligonicella striolata Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Oligonicella tessellata Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Pseudovates chlorophea Blanchard, 1836, Pseudovates cornuta Saussure & Zehntner, 1894, Pseudovates longicollis Stål, 1877, Stagmomantis limbata Hahn, 1835, Yersinia Saussure, 1869. Further sampling is required to determine the presence of these 17 taxa.