In December 2017 a team of biologists from Project Mantis led by Leonardo Lanna and funded by the National Geographic Society, spent six days at REGUA searching the forest for mantises.

The expedition was a huge success! REGUA was found to have the highest diversity of mantises of any single area of the Atlantic Forest and the team found what is most likely new and undescribed species of unicorn mantis of the genus Zoolea.

They also found not one by two males of the mythical Brazilian Dragon Mantis Stenophylla cornigera – one of the rarest species of praying mantis in the world, and took the first photos and video ever of this species.

For more details of this discovery and other expeditions undertaken by Project Mantis see the National Geographic Society website.