All About Mantises

All About Mantises

By Isaiah Kevin Reid

October 21, 2008

Praying Mantises are insects. They have three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. Their bodies are very fragile. They are many different colors: white, gray, purple, brown and green. They have claws and can turn their heads like humans.

Mantises eat bugs and other mantises. They have claws that snatch insects and eat them. They can eat something that is bigger than them. Some might eat lettuce.

Mantises start from eggs in an ootheca which is an egg sac. Then they turn into mini mantises without wings. Finally they shed their skin and a new one appears. They get their wings when they are adults.

Camouflage is something that helps mantises. It helps them catch food and hide from predators. Some predators are birds and snakes and other mantises. They live in tropical places but sometimes they live here. I have found mantises all around our circle on houses, in bushes, on plants, and on trees.

Here are some of my mantises that I have found this summer. Usually I catch them and observe them. Sometimes I try to feed them insects. Then I try to release them in our bushes so I can find them again.