When the young mantids emerge, if there is insufficient prey, they will resort to siblingcide. Like their relatives the cockroaches, mantids undergo simple or incomplete metamorphosis. There is not a caterpillar or maggot stage. The young go through several nymphal stages in which they resemble miniature wingless adults. Males and females can be sexed by the number of abdominal segments.
Males have eight segments, the females, six.
There are many species of mantids worldwide. One species in Sri Lanka may reach 10 inches in length, and like other large species from South America, these large mantids may prey on insects, small birds and reptiles. Though mantids have wings, they do not migrate. They fly more at night, which makes them more susceptible to predation by bats. Females lay their egg cases in the autumn, and one generation of mantids develops each season.