EXPERIMENTALLY SYNCHRONIZED PHENOLOGY AND INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION IN MANTIDS

Tenodera sinensis and Mantis religiosa, which normally exhibit different egg hatch phenologies, were synchronized in replicated field enclosures. Tenodera sinensis, which normally hatches earlier, was unaffected by M. religiosa, but exhibited intraspecific density-dependent mortality. Survival and body size of M. religiosa declined in the presence of T. sinensis. As a result, body size ratios (T. sinensis:M. religiosa), were greater in enclosures containing both species than in monospecific enclosures. -from Authors