Praying Mantis

'Mantis religiosa' -- Mantids are strictly predatory and hunt using a combination of camouflage, stealthy motions, and incredibly fast grasping lunges--their capture strike is completed in a few hundredths of a second. Some species can capture surprisingly large victims, including hummingbirds, lizards, and mice, but usually they prey on other insects. Their triangular heads have large, bulging eyes--check out mantid looking at me as I take this shot--because mantids can move their heads more freely than most insects.

(PACIFIC NORTHWEST INSECTS--Merrill A. Peterson)

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