Praying Mantis

The Praying Mantis gets its name from its appearance when it is resting – its front forelegs are held together and the insect looks like it is praying. That how the Praying Mantis fools its supper!

They have 2 compound eyes with 3 simple eyes placed between them and they can rotate their long neck and see everything from the praying position. The green to brown color allows them to be easily camouflaged. Their forelegs have rows of sharp spikes. The Praying Mantis waits for another insect to some along, grabs it with the spikes, and munches! It can grow to be quite large, from 2 – 6 inches in length. All adult Praying Mantis die in the fall – the females eat the males first, lays their eggs, and then they die.  The next spring hundreds of new little mantis will hatch out.