Mantises
Sit-and-wait predators with rotating heads and ambush etiquette all their own.
10 on file
Orchid Mantis
The world's only animal that mimics an entire flower. Bees prefer her to the real flowers.
European Praying Mantis
Rotates her head 180°. Sees you in 3D. Sometimes decapitates her partner.
Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis
Looks exactly like a dead leaf — curled edges, vein patterns, fake insect damage, the leaf-in-wind sway.
Giant Asian Mantis
8-10 cm SE Asian mantis. Captures small lizards, snakes, hummingbirds. Popular pet mantis worldwide.
Carolina Mantis
Only NATIVE mantis in eastern NA. State insect of SC. Famous for sexual cannibalism.
European Mantis
The original 'praying mantis' — Linnaeus named her for the prayer-like raptorial pose in 1758.
Chinese Mantis
Largest mantis in North America. Eats hummingbirds at feeders. Sold as 'beneficial' garden biocontrol.
Wandering Violin Mantis
Body shaped like a stick, leg lobes shaped like leaves. Endemic to South Asian dry forest.
Devil's Flower Mantis
Africa's largest mantis. Most spectacular threat display in the insect world. Crimson and electric blue.
Ghost Mantis
Mimics a dried leaf so well she disappears in plain sight. Green, brown, gray, ivory phases.