Debbie Miller, age 7, of Huntsville, Alabama, for her question:

Is there an insect called the devil's horse?

This fellow sounds like some bug eyed monster from another planet. Most Americans have never heard of him, or rather they do not know him under this name. Only in the south is he called the devil's horse. The very same insect is known far and wide as the praying mantis.

The insect that southerners call the devil's horse is almost always a female. She is a large, strange looking lady who may remind you of a sprightly pony rearing up on its hind legs. No doubt this is how she came to be called the devil's horse. How¬ever, she does not remind everybody of a pony. Some people think she looks like a lady saying her prayers. This is why most of the world calls, her the praying mantis. Another word that sounds just like pray is spelled prey and it has a very different meaning. This prey may be a victim caught by a larger animal. An animal who devours smaller living creatures is called a beast of prey. And the elegant looking praying mantis is a preying insect.

The strange looking lady enjoys a diet of live meat and spends her life preying on smaller insects. She is about three and a half inches long but you may not notice her among the boughs because she matches the little brown twigs of greenery. She stands upright on her four long, skinny back legs with her gauzy wings spread around like a graceful greenish brown taffeta skirt. Her two front legs are thick and armed with strong claws. She holds them at shoulder level, bent at the elbows and wrists and neatly folded as if in prayer. Her head is gently bowed but her bright red eyes are very much awake.

The praying mantis is not, of course, really saying her prayers. Far from it. She is patiently waiting to catch a glimpse of a moving bug. She may wait in her pray¬ing position for hours without moving, pretending, to be part of the scenery. Even when she spots a victim, she still does not move and scare him away. She turns her head to watch him with her red eyes. The mantis is the only insect that can turn her head around. When the wandering victim comes close enough, she pounces, grabs him in her claws and gobbles him up alive and kicking. Then the praying mantis refolds her arms and bows her head while she waits for her next meal to wander by.

The mantis, alias the devils horse, even eats her own relatives. The lady's husband is much smaller than she is and after the honeymoon she often mistakes him for a suitable dinner and devours him. Mrs. Mantis lays about 200 small white eggs and enfolds them in a frothy ball of spit. The ball hardens and the eggs may stay comfortably inside through the winter. They finally hatch into miniature copies of their mother and, shame on them, some of the hungry youngsters devour their own brothers and sisters.

In spite of her bloodthirsty ways, the praying mantis makes a charming pet, especially for someone who lives in a small, crowded home. She is happy to live in a little bamboo cage. But remember her hungry ways and do not add a roommate to keep her company. In captivity, the mantis will eat bits of apple and potato but she also needs a few live bugs on her diet. She also needs water and may learn to sip it from a spoon you hold for her. She may even take bits of vegetable from your hand with¬out biting your fingers.