Why does the “praying mantid” pray? The prayerlike pose of this near relative of the cockroach is its normal position both for seizing its victims and for defending itself. For their size mantids are among the most predatory animals in existence. They are also among the least known of the insects. There are more than 1500 species in the world, mostly tropical. Only 19 are known in the United States which is on the northern fringe of their normal habitat. One of the most remarkable features of the mantid is its front legs, which bear sharp spines and fold in a curious hinged fashion enabling the insect to reach forward, seize a fly or some other victim, and bring it to its mouth. This is the explanation for the seeming attitude of prayer. Mantids feed entirely on other animals, chiefly insects caught alive. Instances of small birds, lizards and mice being eaten have been reported, probably due to mistaken observations. There is no question that mature individuals of several species can handle any caterpillar, grasshopper, cockroach or other large insect that comes within its range. Their appetite is enormous. An adult mantid has been known to eat ten cockroaches in less than three hours. Bees and wasps usually have no terrors for the predators, although occasionally a mantid is stung while trying to catch a wasp and gives evidence of the injury. Sometimes the mantid’s front legs are held in a posture of sparring, rather than of prayer. More than once the sight of one of these insects “sparring” with an English sparrow or some other small animal has attracted a crowd on a city street and gotten paragraphs in the local newspapers. The mantid usually waits motionless until its prey comes within reach but sometimes, supposedly when very hungry, it may stalk another insect. Sometimes the victim is touched lightly with the antennae before the front legs flash forward and make the capture. These insects have developed considerable camouflage. Some tropical species look like flowers, their colors blending with those of foliage. One species varies in color from white to pale pink and has the practise of crouching among certain blossoms, the petals of which its legs and other body parts resemble. Others have arranged themselves on plants so that they look like blue flowers. Presumably bees and other flower-loving insects thus are lured to their doom. A few tropical mantids have developed a superficial resemblance to other insects of the same environment which are distasteful to birds and monkeys. Some closely resemble large ants. There is a widespread belief that the male always is eaten by the female after mating. Sometimes this happens, but the male never is a willing victim and quite frequently escapes. The eggs are laid in groups of from a dozen to about 400. They are deposited in layers in the midst of a thick frothy liquid which soon hardens and becomes fibrous. For the most part, each species deposits egg masses of a distinctive shape.