Identification
A large insect called the “Praying” Mantis because it often stands in a pose that looks like it is praying.
It is an insect, so has 6 legs, a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. It’s about 2-5 inches long and can vary in color from dark brown to green.
Has two large compound eyes on each side of its triangle-shaped head and can rotate the head 360 degrees.
Has two antennae on the head for navigation.
Fully grown mantises will have wings and can fly.
The back 4 legs are used for walking. The front two legs have sharp spines to help it capture and hold onto prey.
Are sometimes confused with Grasshoppers and stick insects. Usually will be seen standing upright which can make them look like they are praying.
Habitat
There are several different kinds of Praying Mantises, often named after different areas of the world (like the Carolina Mantis, the European Mantis, and the Chinese Mantis), but many can be found all over the world in temperate and tropical areas.
Nesting
Adults will lay eggs in the Fall and then die. Eggs are hard, which protects them until spring when they’ll hatch.
The female will lay between 10 and 400 eggs depending on the species.
Behavior
They use camouflage to hide from predators and to sneak up on prey.
Usually just live for 3 months, from the Spring to the Fall. The longest-lived about a year.
They are primarily diurnal animals meaning they are active during the day and sleep at night.
They are harmless to humans.
When threatened they’ll stand tall, and stretch out their arms and wings to make themselves appear bigger and more threatening. They have no chemical protection, so it is all a bluff.
Offspring
The female will sometimes eat the male, and the siblings will sometimes eat each other.
Eggs will hatch in 3-6 weeks
Nymphs will often mimic ants for protection from predators. They grow as they molt the exoskeleton.
Predators
Frogs, rodents, birds, bats, etc.
Diet
They are carnivorous and ambush predators, so they live off other animals, not plants. Usually other insects like flies, caterpillars, aphids, or crickets. Larger types may occasionally capture and eat a small reptile or bird.
They will typically bite off the head first to get the prey to stop moving.
Fun Facts
While they can sit very still and may look slow, they are extremely fast when attacking prey. It only takes 50-70 milliseconds to strike and snare its prey.
Of the over 2,000 species in the world, around 20 live in North America
State insect of Connecticut as of 1977
It is Praying, not Preying, mantis. It’s for looks, not the efficient attacking.
The closest relatives are termites and cockroaches.
They are commonly kept as pets.
The earliest mantis fossils are about 140 million years old from Siberia.
Most mantises can only hear ultrasound. Many mantises also have an auditory organ that detects the echolocation calls of bats and responds evasively.