It waits quietly, and attacks any insects that come near, grabbing them with it's forelegs. Often it will wait near a flower and attack the insects that come to the flower to feed. Occasionally mantids will stalk prey, but this is not common. This species, like all mantids, is cannibalistic. Reproduction Stories of mantid cannibalism during mating are well known, but frequently exagerated.
Female mantids do sometimes attack and eat males during courtship or mating.
This kind of cannibalism in Stagmomantis carolina has only been observed scientifically in the laboratory, and it is not known whether it occurs in natural conditions. She needs a lot of food to make that reproductive effort, and male mantids are one of the largest and most easily acquired prey around her. Females lay their eggs in a case formed from a liquid foam secreted from abdominal glands. The foam quickly hardens to form a protective shell. In temperate North America, all adult mantids die in the winter, and only the eggs survive to the following spring.