Jean Francois Rerthiaume, age 11, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, for his question:

Is it true that the preying mantis is poisonous?

When you spot your first preying mantis, you may suspect that hostile aliens have landed from outer space. She is the most fearsome looking native insect we are likely to meet in North America. One glimpse is enough to convince you that all the weird rumors about her must be true. But most of them are far from true. She has no waspy stinger and no poisoned mosquito bear.  What's more, the mantis happens to be one of the best allies we have in the whole insect world.

It is true that the bite of any harmless insect may become poisoned. If her pincer jaws are sharp and strong enough to pierce the skin, an enemy germ may enter the wound and start up a painful infection. This also may happen when the skin around the little puncture is torn open by frantic scratching. There are lots of enemy germs around, just waiting for an excuse to invade the flesh through scratches and other wounds.

The meat eating preying mantis may be as much as five inches long, and her mighty jaws certainly are strong, enough to puncture human skin. If she feels scared or annoyed, she might take a nip at the hand that holds her. But she has no poison to jab into the wound and she has no poisonous stinger. If the puncture does become infected, the damage is done by stray germs that happen to get under the skin.

All animals have built in defensive systems to protect them from their enemies. The meat eaters have 7ieapons to capture their victims. But in the world of nature, enough is enough. If an animal had perfect defenses he might perish from laziness. If he had invincible weapons, he could wipe out all other species and rule the world. And nature strives to preserve a balance of all species.

The mantis is a hungry carnivore, armed to the teeth and protected with coloration to match her surroundings. What's more, one of her best weapons is a bagful of cunning tricks. These gifts from :Mother Nature are needed to capture and devour enough insects to satisfy her enormous appetite. She does not need an extra poisonous weapon, and such a thing would give her an unfair advantage.

The major items on her diet are leaf eaters and other insect pests  and every day she may devour enough food to equal her own weight. This is why ecology minded folk hang capsules of mantis eggs in their gardens. When the hungry little ones hatch, they start to feast on the bugs and grubs that devour the vegetables.

There are about 2000 members of the mantis clan, and about a dozen are native to North America. They range from one to five inches in length and wear colors that blend faith the natural scenery. When hunting    which is most of the time a preying mantis Perches motionless in the shrubbery. Her huge eyes watch patiently, and patiently she holds her extra large arms ready to pounce. And the mantis can turn her head to see what goes on over her shoulder. No other insect can make this claim.