praying mantis

He was also passionate about his niche insect hobby, raising rare praying mantises.

We chatted and fed some house flies to a large praying mantis perched on the branch of a trumpet flower shrub.

They live and reproduce in water, but their young only develop inside the bodies of other animals—usually terrestrial insects such as praying mantises.

Birds, such as blue jays, cardinals, and chickens; as well as arthropods, such as praying mantises, spiders, yellowjackets, and ants, are the most common predators.

There are few lanternfly predators other than praying mantises, which can’t keep the invasive insects in check if the population gets too big.