Praying Mantis
Student Report: Rough Draft
by Damon Landry
Part 1: Description
1
Praying mantises (also called mantids) range from less than one inch up to twelve inches long. Most are either green or brown. The insect has a large triangular head with a compound eye on each side. Praying mantids are the only insect that turns their head in a full 180-degree angle. Their eyes are sensitive to the slightest movement up to 60 feet away. They have a long neck and very powerful jaws. Their strong, spiny front legs that are effective at catching and holding down prey.
2
They must blend in with their habitat to avoid being eaten by their many enemies. In the bodies of some species of mantis, there is a hollow chamber. It has recently been discovered that these chambers provide the mantis with a means of detecting bats, one of their most feared predators.
Part 2: Habitat
3
Nearly 2,000 species of mantids are widely distributed throughout tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the world. Different species live in many parts of countries such as North and South America, South Africa, Europe, the Southern parts of Asia, and some parts of Australia. Praying mantids in North America are usually green or brown. There are three main types of mantids in Eastern United States: the European mantid, Carolina mantid, and Chinese mantid.
Part 3: ______
4
Praying mantises eat insects and other invertebrates like beetles, butterflies, spiders, crickets, grasshoppers, and other mantises. They also eat vertebrates such as small tree frogs, lizards, mice, and hummingbirds.
5
The mantis’ front legs have rows of sharp spines used to grasp prey. The mantis waits unmoving and is almost invisible on a leaf or a stem, ready to catch any insect that passes.
6
When potential prey comes close enough, the mantis thrusts its pincher-like forelegs forward to catch it. The prey probably won’t escape because the forelegs are so strong and armed with overlapping spines. The mantis bites the neck of its prey to paralyze it and begins to devour it.
Part 4: Breeding
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Breeding season is in the summer in temperate areas. The female will lay groups of 12–400 eggs in the autumn, in a small case that has a hard, protective shell. Insects are not the only creatures in the animal kingdom that create protective shells for their eggs. This helps the eggs survive during the wintertime.
8
Small mantids emerge in the spring. Often, their first meal is a sibling. Young mantids or nymphs, also eat leafhoppers, aphids, and small flies. Nymphs will shed many times before they are full grown. It takes an entire summer or growing season for mantids to mature to adulthood. One generation develops each season.
Multiple Choice Question
Which sentence in the section about breeding should be removed to maintain the logical flow of ideas?
A.
The female will lay groups of 12–400 eggs in the autumn, in a small case that has a hard, protective shell.
B.
Insects are not the only creatures in the animal kingdom that create protective shells for their eggs.
C.
Small mantids emerge in the spring.
D.
One generation develops each season.