The mantis genus Tenodera is distributed across Asia, Australasia and Africa with recent human caused introductions in North America. Species of the genus are similar morphologically and utilize the same environments across their distribution. It is unclear where the genus originated and how their distribution emerged. To determine the biogeographic distibution of Tenodera we sequenced six molecular loci (12S rDNA, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, Histone III, Cytochrome Oxidase I & II, wingless) for taxa collected in Africa, India, SE Asia, Australasia and the United States. Phylogenetic analysis reveals an Asian origin for the genus with radiations into their current distribution. It appears that species in Australasia are over split and require re-examination.