Mantis religiosa

Mantis religiosa is the scientific name of a species of mantodean insect of the Mantidae family commonly called santateresa, silbata, mamboretá, campamocha, tatadiós or simply mantis. It has a wide geographic distribution throughout the Old World (Eurasia and Africa), with numerous subspecies depending on the region. It was introduced to North America in 1899, on a ship with seedlings, and despite being an introduced species, it is the official insect of the US state of Connecticut.1 Description

Female feeding.
It is a medium-sized insect of approximately 6 to 7 cm, with a long thorax and thin antennae. It has two large compound eyes and three small simple eyes between them. The head can rotate up to 180º. Its front legs, which it keeps tucked up in front of its head, are equipped with spines to hold onto its prey.

They are solitary animals except during the breeding season, when male and female seek each other out to mate. When more than one male is near a female, they will fight and only one will mate. The females are larger than the males. In most cases, during or after mating, the female eats the male.