(European) Praying Mantis

The only representative of the order of mantises that is endemic in the Czech Republic. The Praying Mantis is clad in a brilliant green, turning brown in fall. The female can be told from the male by its longer antennae and the larger number of abdominal segments. A distinctive feature of the mantis is its triangular head, with large, widely spaced composite eyes that give it stereoscopic vision. It feeds primarily on invertebrates, but is also capable of bringing down smaller vertebrate animals. It hunts its prey by stealth predation. Sexual cannibalism has been observed in mantises.