Go back to:

Praying Mantis

To view these resources with no ads, please Login or Subscribe to help support our content development.

School subscriptions can access more than 175 downloadable unit bundles in our store for free (a value of $1,500).

District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Email for a quote: sheri@exploringnature.org.

Mantis religiosa

Range

There are almost 2,000 kinds (species) of preying mantis around the world. They are found in North and South America, South Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. There are 3 kinds (species) in North America. The Carolina mantis is the only one that is native to North America. Both the Chinese and European mantises were brought to North America in the mid 1900s to eat garden pests. Now all 3 are found in North America in the wild.

Habitat

They live in meadows and fields.

Body Traits

They are green, tan or brown with a long, thin body and longer wings, reaching 2-3" long. They have big, powerful eyes and can turn their head to look for prey. Their eyes can see anything move up to 60 feet away. They have strong jaws for eating its prey. Their front legs have rows of sharp spines that they use to hold their prey.

Habits

They live alone. They sit with their front legs held up together so that it looks like praying. They wait without moving and blend in so well that they are almost invisible. When prey comes by, they grab it. They bite the neck of its prey to paralyze it and eat it while it's still alive.

Diet

They eat other insects, including other mantises and spiders.

To view these resources with no ads, please Login or Subscribe to help support our content development.

School subscriptions can access more than 175 downloadable unit bundles in our store for free (a value of $1,500).

District subscriptions provide huge group discounts for their schools. Email for a quote: sheri@exploringnature.org.

Reproduction

The female lays up to 400 eggs in the fall. She makes a foam cover that hardens into a shell that protects the eggs through the winter. Babies hatch out in the spring and eat the other babies.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class:     Insecta
Order:     Mantodea
Family: Mantidae
Genus:     Mantis
Species: M. religiosa

Citing Research References

When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).

When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows.
Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access < URL >.