I located a single specimen of Desert Mantis Eremiaphila baueriin the bottom of a wide sandy wadi whilst birding the Abha area recently. The insect was extremely difficult to see unless it moved, due to its camouflage. The mantids in Saudi Arabia include both praying mantis and ground mantis, with a total of 46 species known from Arabia. A common species is the cryptically coloured Desert Mantis Eremiaphila bauerialso known as the Ground Mantis. They occur in areas of sand and gravel and can survive in very high temperatures above 40 °C.
