Adult female mantises are often incapable of flight because their bodies are heavy with the weight of undeveloped eggs. The abdomen of the mantis has several segments. The male mantis, which is usually smaller than the female, has eight segments in its abdomen. The female has only six. The female also has a tube called an ovipositor for laying eggs.
Autumn is the time of mating for mantises in temperate climates.
The male mantis which is usually smaller than the female must be cautious in approaching potential partners, or they will end up as meals rather than mates. Any mantis will eat another mantis if it gets a chance, and mating females are no exception to this rule. A male usually approaches a female from behind and climbs onto her back, holding on with his front legs. Then be bends the tip of his abdomen under to join the tip of the female's abdomen. Sperm cells pass from the male's body to the female's, where they are stored in a special chamber in her abdomen.