The Praying Mantis is an insect that has a triangular head with bulging eyes and can grow as long as twelve inches. They have long spiny front legs that form a praying position. Their colors tend to be dark green or brown, but can also be light green and even pink. Interestingly, they are also the only insect capable of turning side to side and are sensitive to even the slightest movement of up to an astonishing 60 feet.
The praying mantis will sit quietly on a leaf or stem and then use its front legs to grasp insects that come near them. Once in their grasp, the mantis paralyzes the bad bugs by biting the neck and consuming them.
Praying mantises breed during the summer months, laying anywhere from a dozen to several hundred eggs when the temperatures turn cooler in the fall months on the stems of plants, stalks, and even twigs.
After about three weeks their nymphs will emerge to consume aphids, flies, and even their own species. Young mantises fully develop after one summer.
While many believe them to be a nuisance, the praying mantis bug is beneficial to gardens, farms, and greenhouses because they will eat a variety of pesky insects including beetles, wasps, spiders, and crickets. Mantises will even consume mice and other larger prey within their reach.
