Records of mantises (Mantodea) within steppe zone of Ukraine

Study Extent

The southwestern part of Donetsk region was thoroughly investigated by the author in 2014-2021, and the southwestern part of Odesa region - in 2022-2023. Records in other regions of Ukraine were made by the author or other researchers by chance. In total, more than 200 localities were surveyed. These are mainly steppe and meadow areas of varying degrees of pasture digression, which have been preserved in the valleys of small rivers, in the coastal strips of seas, lymans and lakes, along beams. Information on records of 6 species of praying mantises is given.

Sampling

The survey was carried out by mowing with an entomological net and visual observation. The relative number of praying mantises was recorded in localities where at least 3 series of mowing were carried out. At the same time, an entomological net with a diameter of 35 cm and a handle length of 140 cm was used. One series of mowing consisted of 25 double sweeps of the net during 50 steps. Species names of Mantodea are given according to Otte et al. (2023). Geographical locations were indicated by GPS-navigator in decimal degrees according to the WGS84 system.

Quality Control

The author of the dataset is fully responsible for the quality of the published data.

Method steps

1. Conducting of a field survey within the previousely chosen plot to the standard method.
2. Counting of the mantises with simultaneous identification of species.
3. Creating maps of the records made.
4. Georeferencing and creating of the lists of registered species.
5. Organizing of the dataset according to the DarwinCore standards.

The dataset consists of records of mantises (Mantodea).,, The dataset consists of records of mantises (Mantodea).,

1. Animalia
   rank: kingdom
2. Arthropoda
   rank: phylum
3. Insecta
   rank: class
4. Mantodea
   rank: order
5. Mantidae
   rank: family
6. Amelidae
   rank: family
7. Eremiaphilidae
   rank: family
8. Empusidae
   rank: family

The dataset covers the steppe zone of Ukraine, namely territories of Donetsk, Odesa, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia administrative regions.