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Praying Mantids
Scientific Name: Mantis religiosa
Family Name: Mantidea
Serendipity Ranch
Columbs, North Carolina
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Identification: Large insects, usually over 1 inch. with a distinctive appearance. Prothorax and front coxae greatly lengthened. Front femora and tibiae armed with spines and fitted for grasping prey. Middle and hind legs slender, their coxae shorter. Tarsi 5-segmented. Antennae short. Mantids are predaceous, and usually lie in wait for their prey with the front legs upraised. Eggs are laid in papier-mache-like cases attached to weeds or twigs; the eggs overwinter in the case. Mantids mostly are tropical. [Borror, Donald J. and White, Richard E., Peterson Field Guide Series: A Field Guide to the Insects of America North of Mexico, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1970]
This order has gained media attemtion on account of the fact that female mantids are supposed to eat the male following mating. Although this may often happen under captive conditions, it seems to occur only rarely in the wild. Mantids are medium-to-large insects, with females of some species attaining 150mm in length, though males are usually smaller than females. They have small, highly mobile heads with slim antennae, relatively large compound eyes and chewing mouthparts. The prothorax is long and narrow, giving the appearance that the head is on the end of a long neck. In winged individuals the forewings are leathery and cover the membranous hindwings. The forelega are raptorial, that is, they are modified for grasping prey, while the other two pairs of legs are fairly long and used for walking and running. Cerci are visible on the end of the abdomen. Nymphs resemble adults, but lack wings, and all stages are 'sit-and-wait' predators, using their excellent eyesight to pick out, and their raptorial front legs to grasp, any suitable arthropod preay which comes within range. [Preston-Mafham, Rod and Ken, The Natural History of Insects, BPC Books Limited, Aylesbury Great Britain, 1996]