The insects were so named because the position in which they hold their legs while at rest or preparing to attack their prey gives them the appearance of folding their arms in prayer. In African art the praying mantis is often depicted as a god or spirit. Mantises lie in wait and then quickly pounce on their prey, giving them no time to flee. It is not uncommon for a mantis to hold onto its prey with one leg while going after another with the second leg. They will eat almost anythinginsects, small reptiles, small birds, and other mantids.
Females often eat their mates during copulation.
Once copulation has begun, she bites off his head. The male's copulatory activity is not curtailed by this, and in some species is stimulated, because it is controlled by a ganglion center completely distinct from that controlling the head. By eating her mate, the female ingests extra protein to nourish her eggs. The eggs are laid in the fall and hatch in the spring. Young mantises immediately begin hunting, and disperse themselves over a wide area, presumably to avoid fratricide.