Checklist of global distribution of hymenopodidae (mantodea: dictyoptera: insecta)

The praying mantids (Order Mantodea, Class Insecta) are a group of over 2500 carnivorous polyneopteran insects distributed in tropical and subtropical habitats of the world, from the rainforest to the desert ground. The order Mantodea comprises over 20 families, out of which the family Hymenopodidae, commonly known as flower mantids or orchid mantids is the most attractive with brilliant colours and camouflaging adornments and often mimic flowers. In this compilation, the family Hymenopodidae was grouped into most acceptable 5 subfamilies: Acromantinae (12 genera, 82 species), Epaphroditinae (1 genus, 3 species), Hymenopodinae (12 genera, 79 species), Oxypilinae (7 genera, 69 species), and Phyllocraniinae (2 genera, 5 species) consisting 34 genera and 238 species/subspecies. In India, 36 species of Hymenopodidae are on record so far. The global distribution of each species was given.