I hadn’t seen a Praying Mantis all year in Eliza Howell Park until last week. Now I have found three. The species is Chinese Praying Mantis, the larger of the two species found in Michigan, about 3 and ½ inches long.
It often takes careful searching – or just happening to look in the right place at the right time – to find the camouflaged insect.
They are called “praying” because of their habit of holding their front legs together in front of them, similar to a praying position some humans assume. This posture can be seen in the next picture, taken from the front.
The Chinese Praying Mantis was introduced in this country in the late 1800s to help control unwanted insects, having long been recognized as very effective in catching and consuming many different insects.
The mantis is an ambush predator. Part of the feeding strategy is camouflage. The shape and color make them difficult to see when they climb small limbs. This one was positioned head down.
Its “praying” position is also part of its hunting strategy. It can remain motionless for hours, if necessary, until prey comes close. Then it strikes with great speed. The same front legs that remind people of praying are extremely effective in preying.
Note the differences between the front legs and the other four.
Mantises are carnivores. They eat insects (all kinds) and spiders, and sometimes small frogs and birds. They even eat other mantises. At times, the female eats the male that mates with her!
The front legs have spines (spikes) that assist in grasping prey, which they then eat alive.
Mantises usually mate in September or early October and the female lays eggs which, as an egg mass in a case, survive the winter and hatch in the spring (May or June). The adults I saw these last few days have probably only recently reached full maturity. That fact, and the need to find a mate, may account for them being more visible at this time of the year.
It is always exciting to find a Praying Mantis in a park or garden. It is attractive, a little exotic, and has a very interesting life history. They can even look somewhat harmless…
…but those front legs are deadly to other insects.
Eliza Howell Nature Walks 
Recently I was dismayed to learn that the preying mantis also preys on hummingbirds, attacking by holding the bird between the deadly two ;-)front legs and eating the brains while the bird is still alive…! Nature, red in tooth and claw…;-)
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Yes. They are indiscriminately carnivorous.
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