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A
praying mantis, or praying mantid, is a kind of insect, of the
family Mantidae (order Mantodea), named for their "prayer-like"
stance. (The word mantis in Greek means prophet.) There are approximately
2,000 species world-wide; most are tropical or subtropical. There
are three species of praying mantises that are common to North
America: the European mantis (Mantis religiosa), the Chinese mantis
(Tenodera aridifolia sinensis), and the Carolina mantis (Stagomantis
carolina). The English and Chinese species were introduced to
the United States around the 1900s as garden predators hoping
to control the pest populations.
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Mantids are notable
for their large size and nimble reflexes. Their diet usually consists
of living insects, including flies and aphids; larger species
have been known to prey on small lizards, frogs, birds and even
rodents. A mantid's prey is caught and held securely with its
grasping forelegs. Mantids make use of protective colouration
to blend in with the foliage, both to avoid predators themselves,
and to better snare their victims. Mantids are also known to be
cannibals. They are not only known to eat other insects, but also
other mantids, sometimes even their mating partners (though the
frequency of this is often overstated). During the mating season,
which typically begins in autumn, male mantids are cautious when
approaching female mantids. The male usually approaches from behind
and hangs onto the female's back with his front legs. He then
deposits and stores sperm cells into a special chamber in the
female abdomen. The danger may occur during the mating process
or afterwards where the female mantis devours her male mate, sometimes
starting by biting off his head.
Images 1 &
2 Are From The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Images 3 Through 5 Are From The N.O.A.A.
Image Number 6 Is From The US Fish & Wildlife Service
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