FOOD: Insectivore - various insects
including other mantises
PREDATORS: Bats, birds; ants and spiders eat young mantises
HABITAT: Forests, parks, gardens, fields
DESCRIPTION
This unusual looking creature is named for its
front pair of legs which look like arms raised in prayer. Actually, they are in ready
position - ready to snatch a passing insect! Their excellent vision makes them especially
good hunters.
They are green or brown like leaves so they are
hard to see.
In the fall, females deposit foamy egg cases on
twigs. In the spring, hundreds of tiny praying mantises crawl out of each case.
Female praying mantises are larger than males and
sometimes eat their mates.
U.S., southern Canada,
