I saw an insect flying clumsily in an alfalfa field a few weeks ago and those who know me will probably guess what I did next – well I followed it until it landed and to my surprise it was a praying mantid. Not the most graceful flier :). The praying mantid gets its name from the way it holds the front legs as if in prayer.
Praying mantids have big eyes and unlike most insects can turn their heads and do shoulder checks. They are very good predators and will feed on other bugs – unfortunately, they are not picky eaters and will eat both good and bad bugs.
Male praying mantids fly in search of females. They have to be very careful when approaching a hungry girl though; they may end up as a meal before, during or after mating. They may get their heads bitten off during mating – poor guys. The girls are not very nice. What is a guy to do? Take one for the species I guess… Praying mantids have interesting looking eggs; the eggs are laid in groups of more than 100 in a foamy egg case.
There are some Kung Fu martial art forms based on praying mantid movements.
People keep praying mantids as pets and I had the pleasure of meeting a praying mantid called Rosie a few years ago.
Photo of Rosie was taken by Gayle Jesperson. Other photos taken by Susanna Acheampong.
Bugs N Stuff 
Susanna, what is the difference between a mantis and a mantid?
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There are too many bugs out there and to to prevent confusion bugs have been classified into different orders (groups) and other subgroups. Mantodea or Mantids refers to the entire group and Mantis is a subgroup. People generally refer to the group as “praying mantis” – very confusing, you are not alone. It took me a while to get it straightened out – I had to hit the bug books for clarification :). Thanks for the question Tyrion.
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