PRAYING MANTIS
The following page is information about a praying mantis. The praying mantis (correct spelling for praying mantis)get their name from the way they hold their bodies. Notice how the praying mantis holds it's large front legs in the form of prayer. They are entirely motionless waiting for their prey to come to them. To me, they look like a small twig on the bush or plant. They can take many different colors usually matching their surroundings.
Identification for the praying mantis is pretty much the same for all species. They are usually about 3 to 4 inches long ranging in color from green to beige/brown to spotted. Their forelegs are shaped like a fisherman's knife with spiny spikes on the back, which they use to grasp their prey. The head is small compared to the rest of their body with eyes making up the bulk of their head with the rest being the mouth to handle large insects. The scientific name for praying mantis can be better described by its scientific classification of: The praying mantis lays eggs in a huge mass in a gummy substance that gets clued to twigs, plants stems or other items. Only one generation per season. In spring or early summer the nymphs emerge from the gummy mass. The developing nymphs can become cannibalistic and need to be separated when rearing mantids. In commercial rearing the young have been known to eat each other if they are not fed with other insects. The praying mantis mating season begins in the fall. The breeding of praying mantis at this time starts with the male on the female's back. He deposits sperm in a chamber in the female's abdomen. Then she sometimes will turn on the male and devour him. It is important to understand that praying mantis are not the answer to insect control alone. They can be considered the "best" when it come to controlling moths, mosquitos and flies, because of their speed making them fast enough to catch these varmits.Some species will even take on grasshoppers for food(bless their hearts). There is no need in feeding a praying mantis. From the experts that raise praying mantis, they recommend 3 egg cases for an area of 5,000 square feet, so praying mantis purchasing can be a benefit to homeowners. A couple of interesting facts about praying mantis are:
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