Mantis religiosa came from southern Europe, but we are probably most familiar with the large mantis sold commercially, the Chinese mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis , originally from eastern Asia. Regardless of species, we tend to call all of them praying mantids. The praying mantis has a long thin body topped with a triangular head and big eyes. The mantis is the only insect that can swivel is head as it searches for food. The four hind legs or long and spindly, like most stick insects, while the two front legs are larger, lined with sharp spikes for seizing and holding prey.
Mantids tend to be green or tan, and vary from three to six inches long.
Some species have short, soft wings that are used not for flight, but to guide long jumps or to make them appear larger to predators. Nymphs look like miniature adults without wings. When they first emerge from the egg case, they are about the size of mosquitoes. Life Cycle Mantids live for a single season, hatching from overwintering eggs in the spring when temperatures are consistently warm and dying in the fall when the weather turns cold. The eggs overwinter in an egg case containing 50 to 400 eggs.