Welcome to You Ask Andy

Sylvester Gordon, age 18, French Camp, Miss., for his question:

What is a praying mantis?

This beautiful insect looks like a lady saying her prayers. Nothing could be further from the truth. A name more suitable to her character would be the preying mantis. For she preys on other insects and, at times, is even a cannibal. To the insect world she is a menace. But to us, she is a friend. For she downs quantities of the pesky insects that attack our crops and gardens.

In soma insect books you will find the mantis listed as a mantid. This is because she is classed in the insect family Mantidae. Both mantis and mantid are coined from m older word meaning prophet, or holy man.

The praying mantis is a large, preen insect throe and one half inches long. She stands on long, spindly legs with the lanky upper part of her body held erect. The two front legs at shoulder level are thick and clawed. They are held folded, bent at wrists and elbows. The head of the mantis, with its bright red eyes, is bent gently forward, and she is said to be the only insect who can turn her head and look over her shoulder.

It is hard to see the mantis among the green foliage where sho rusts. The gauzy gram wingsover the lower part of her body look like a taffeta skirt. Sho appears to be kneeling, with bowed head, hands and arms folded in prayer. Actually, she is waiting to pounce.

Her red eyes are scanning the scenery, and she hopes that some other insect will mistake her for harmless leaves and twigs. She is in ambush, the folding front logs held ready to grab her prey.

The big green praying mantis is a native of the Orient, first brought here some 50 years ago. About 20 smaller mantids are native to North America. The Carolina Mantis is quite common in the Southland. She is more brown and less green than her Oriental cousin.

In spite of its bloodthirsty habits, towards other insects, the mantis makes a charming pet. However, be sure to keep each mantis in a separate cage. If she gets hungry, she will oat her roommate, even if this happens to be another mantis.

You will need to feed her often for she has a huge appetite. She enjoys grasshoppers, ladybugs, meal worms, honeybees and any other insects you can bear to sacrifice. You may also feed her bits of raw beef.

In the wild, the mantis is entirely a meateater and. she eats her meat raw. In captivity, she may eat bits of apple and potato and shy will soon learn to take thane tidbits from your fingers. Be sure to give her a little water. She will sip it form a spoon held in your hand. Pretty soon she will learn to recognize you end turn her head, the red eyes watching hopefully for something good to oat.

Mrs. Mantis lays about 200 little eggs in a frothy ball of spit. This ball hardens into a nest which protects the eggs through the winter. The youngsters are tiny copies of their mother. They will molt several times before they are full grown. In the meantime they devour any other insects they cm catch. And some catch and devour their own brothers and sisters.

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