Questions people actually ask

Praying mantises get their name from the way they hold up their front legs, as if praying. The word mantis comes from the Greek for ‘prophet’. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea) The legs aren’t really praying, of course: they are held ready to grab anything that strays too close. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea)

Because they eat so much, mantises are sometimes called ‘preying mantids’, but that spelling is a mistake. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea)

The Natural History Museum, London, says there are over 2,500 known species. Natural History Museum, London: Small orders collection (Mantodea) · checked 31 Oct 2026 Britannica gives approximately 2,000 species. Britannica: Mantis · checked 31 Oct 2026

None live wild in Great Britain. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea) · checked 31 Oct 2026 So if you find one in Britain, the Oxford museum suggests asking whether it’s a pet. Oxford University Museum of Natural History: Mantodea

Mantises have the first confirmed 3D (stereo) vision found in any animal without a backbone. Natural History Museum, London: Small orders collection (Mantodea) To test it, a team at Newcastle University made tiny 3D glasses for mantises and fixed them on with beeswax. Newcastle University, 7 January 2016: Tiny glasses confirm 3D vision in insects

With a flexible neck, mantises are the only group of insects that can look over their shoulders. The Canadian Encyclopedia: Mantid The Chinese mantis can swivel its head 180 degrees. NC State Extension: Chinese praying mantid

Mantises eat mostly insects, but have been known to eat small animals with backbones. Australian Museum: Praying mantises (Order Mantodea) Mantises will eat prey about their own size, and bigger species will take mice, lizards and frogs. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea)

It’s often said that female mantises always eat their mates, but studies suggest this isn’t commonly seen in the wild. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea) The Canadian Encyclopedia says it is probably uncommon in the wild and more likely when females are hungry. Males approach slowly and freeze if the female moves. The Canadian Encyclopedia: Mantid

A female mantis lays her eggs in a mass called an ootheca. It is frothy when first laid and quickly hardens. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea) The froth hardens into a case a bit like polystyrene, glued to a twig, fence post or other support. The Canadian Encyclopedia: Mantid

Bringing an egg case indoors over winter is a bad idea: the warmth can make the young hatch early, when there is no food for them. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantid caresheet If you want to watch an egg case, the Amateur Entomologists’ Society suggests an unheated building such as a shed, so the young hatch at the right time. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantid caresheet

The Amateur Entomologists’ Society gives an average lifespan of twelve months. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantids (Order Mantodea) Its caresheet says mantises live for 12 to 18 months. Amateur Entomologists’ Society: Praying Mantid caresheet

Mantis egg cases are sold for garden pest control, but mantises aren’t very good at it: they eat almost anything, including pollinators and other helpful insects. Utah State University Extension: Beneficial insects, mantids

It is the largest mantis found in North America, at 7 to 10 cm. Britannica: Mantis