Praying Mantis

InsectPredatorInvertebrate

Overview

Praying mantises (or mantids) are predatory insects in the order Mantodea, named for the way they hold their spined front legs folded as if in prayer. There are roughly two thousand species worldwide, mostly in warm regions. This page is a group-level overview; the European mantis (Mantis religiosa) is shown as a familiar reference. Mantises are ambush hunters famous for their swivelling, triangular heads and excellent eyesight.

Habitat & Range

Mantises live mainly in temperate and tropical habitats including grasslands, shrublands, forests, and gardens, where vegetation provides cover for ambushing prey. Many species are highly camouflaged to match leaves, bark, grass, or flowers. They are most diverse in warm regions, and habitat and appearance vary considerably across the order.

Diet

Mantises are carnivorous ambush predators. They wait motionless and strike with their spined forelegs to seize prey, mainly insects and other invertebrates, and larger species occasionally take small vertebrates. They generally hunt by sight, helped by their mobile head and large eyes. Because they prey on many insects, mantises are sometimes considered helpful in gardens, though they are not selective and eat beneficial insects too.

Behavior

A mantis typically sits still and well camouflaged, then strikes very rapidly when prey comes within reach. Mantises can turn their heads to follow movement, an unusual ability among insects. Females lay eggs in a protective foam case called an ootheca that hardens around the eggs. Sexual cannibalism, in which the female sometimes eats the male, is documented in some species but is not universal. Behaviour varies between species.

Human Interaction & Conservation

Praying mantises are popular and harmless to people, and they feature in folklore and as subjects of fascination for their hunting behaviour and camouflage. Some are kept as exotic pets, which has specific care requirements; FaunaHub does not provide care advice. Introduced mantis species can affect local insect communities in some areas. Most species are common, and conservation concern applies mainly to specialised species.

Similar Animals

Mantises are most closely related to cockroaches and termites, not to the bees, butterflies, or beetles covered elsewhere on FaunaHub. Unrelated insects such as mantisflies mimic the mantis's grasping forelegs but belong to a different order, and some stick and leaf insects share the mantis's talent for camouflage.

More photos of the praying mantis