Praying mantises were until recently usually spotted in southern and eastern Poland, where the temperature is slightly higher than in northern parts of the country.
But climate warming caused a considerable expansion of the thermophilic bug’s habitat to the north, PAP reported.
Municipal services in Warsaw were also noting rising numbers of reported sightings of praying mantises in the streets of the capital.
Sightings of the bug in big cities would be further increasing due to the urban heat island effect, Marcin Sielezniew, an entomology expert, was quoted as saying by PAP.
Mantis religiosa (L.) is a protected and only species of praying mantis in Poland.
(jh)
Source: PAP