The mantis is 4-5 inches long, and has six legs. They have a triangle shaped head, and there brown or green. The mantis has spikes that cover the front legs, that helps them catch their prey and eat. There color is green or brown, that provides camouflage, to help it blend in to its environments.  They are also divided in to three sections of the body, the head, thorax, and abdomen. They have large eye compounds. Even though their aggressive, their yet graceful.

This mantis is found in Argentina or as we know it, South America. They do well in their habitat because of their color, and fast movement. Their color helps to have camouflage, to hide from predators.  Their fast movement, also helps, so it can catch their prey and then they won’t be starved.  The population is stable, with about 2,000 species of mantises. They are low in the food web.

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The mantis feeds on smaller insect such as, smaller spiders, fruit flies, crickets, beetles, moths, and bees. After mating,  the female mantis goes hunting. When she is carrying around her eggs, she might be aggressive and go for the larger insect. The mantis has to watch out because of their predators such as the, bird, snake, monkey, and larger spiders. They  compete with other insects and spiders or food. The mantis is a consumer, and from their a carnivore.

When threatened, the praying mantis will stand tall and spread their forelegs with their wings fanning out wide and mouths open. This defensive stance is used to make the praying mantis seem larger, so that it can scare the opponent, with some species having bright colors and patterns on their hind wings and inner surfaces of their front legs for this purpose. This is their defensive position.

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Interestingly enough, praying mantids are able to hear these ultrasonic sounds and when the frequency begins to increase rapidly, indicating an approaching bat, the praying mantis will stop flying horizontally and take a nose dive down vertically at an incredible speed towards the safety of the ground. This sudden descent will be of a downward spiral or an acrobatic loop motion.

 

Author: Stephanie C.
Published: 03/2013 

 

Resource Links:http://www.wikipedia.org/
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Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimiana_rehni