The praying mantis life cycle can be divided into three life stages; egg, nymph, and adult. Eggs are laid in the fall in an egg case called the ootheca. The ootheca may contain up to 200 praying mantis eggs. It protects the eggs through the winter. When spring arrives, the young nymphs emerge from the ootheca. In this early stage of life, they have no wings but can still hunt small live prey. As they feed, the nymphs grow into adults through metamorphosis. Praying mantis metamorphosis is much different from the complete four-stage metamorphosis of butterflies and moths. Complete metamorphosis includes a larva stage. Praying mantises undergo an incomplete or hemimetabolic metamorphosis, in which the nymph grows directly into the adult. Nymphs grow and molt, shed their exoskeleton, and grow a new one several times to reach the adult stage. Although females generally live longer than males and females, an individual praying mantis life span is not more than one year. They typically live six to twelve months. No adults survive through the winter. Only the ootheca can withstand the winter cold. A female laying the ootheca is shown in the image. Notice her large body size and small wings.
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Mating Rituals of the Praying Mantis
The praying mantis is known for a unique behavior in which the female decapitates and eats the male during mating. This practice varies among the different species of mantises and under different environmental conditions. Scientists continue research to determine why the female eats her mate. This behavior by females influences how praying mantises select their mates. In many animal species, the female selects the male. However, the male praying mantis chooses which female he will mate with. The female's body size appears to be a significant factor in this decision. Females with larger body mass are less likely to eat the male and are more likely to produce more offspring successfully and, therefore, more likely to be chosen for mating. What is the process of a praying mantis giving birth? After the male and female praying mantises mate, the female lays the eggs on a tree branch. The eggs are surrounded by a foam that dries and hardens, forming the ootheca that protects the eggs through winter.
Metamorphosis of the Praying Mantis
Earlier in the lesson, the praying mantis life cycle was described as including hemimetabolic or incomplete metamorphosis. Praying mantis metamorphosis does not include a larva stage with a cocoon as a butterfly does. The stages the praying mantis goes through are the following:
- Ootheca - This egg stage lasts through the winter season.
- Nymph - The nymph stage is the young or juvenile form. Nymphs grow and molt several times before reaching maturity. The phases between praying mantis molting stages are known as instars.
- Adult - After the final molt, the adult praying mantis is fully mature and able to reproduce. After reproduction, the eggs are laid for the next generation, and the adults die.
Praying mantises are popular insects to raise as pets or add to a garden. Those who breed mantises will want to know how to tell if praying mantis eggs are fertile. The female will lay eggs whether fertilized or not. The best way to tell if they are fertile is to carefully observe when the praying mantises mate and how soon after the eggs. Those laid shortly after mating are more likely to be fertile. Then one can observe the ootheca patiently to see if the nymphs hatch. It is possible to cut a thin layer from the top of the ootheca and observe if there is liquid inside, indicting fertile eggs. But this must be done with extreme care as not to damage the eggs. The layer removed must be replaced, or the eggs will dry out.
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The praying mantis is a fascinating insect with several physical and behavioral adaptations. It is a carnivorous insect that hunts live prey - camouflaging color and a pair of highly specialized strong front legs aid the praying mantis in capturing and eating its meals. When folded during hunting, the position of these arms gives the praying mantis its name. Its triangular head has two compound and three simple eyes and can a complete 180-degree turn.
Male praying mantises are smaller than females and have more abdominal sections and larger wings. Larger females are more desirable mates as they are less likely to eat the male while mating and produce more offspring. The lifecycle of all praying mantises is less than one year, but females tend to outlive males. The praying mantis life cycle undergoes an incomplete or hemimetabolic metamorphosis. The eggs are protected in a case called on ootheca from which young praying mantises called nymphs emerge in the spring. These wingless juveniles go through several instar stages as they grow and molt until they reach maturity as adults. Unlike butterflies, the praying mantis does not have a larva stage. The praying mantis lifespan ranges from six to twelve months. Adult males and females mate and die shortly after mating, but the cycle continues with the next generation.
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Video Transcript
Praying Mantis 101
The praying mantis is an aggressive insect that is considered notorious in the insect world. First, why they are called the praying mantis. The two front legs are bent into a position that resembles the act of praying. When hunting, the insect sits upright with their front legs bent, waiting for prey to come close enough to eat.
The praying mantis is part of a larger group of insects called mantids. They live for 6-12 months and die after mating or laying eggs, depending on the gender. Adults grow to be between 0.5 and 6 inches in total length and they are comprised of three body segments: an elongated abdomen, the head and thorax, and the antennae. The antennae are used for smelling. Males and females can be differentiated by the number of segments in their abdomen: males have eight segments and females have six, though females are typically larger in size.
Mantises can rotate their head up to 180 degrees, unique in the insect world. They also have two compound eyes, each with multiple lenses, and three simple eyes, each with one lens, between the compound eyes. The two larger compound eyes give the organism more peripheral vision without having to turn the head and provide detail, while the smaller simple eyes are better at detecting movement. This combination enables them to see prey up to 60 feet away, a magnificent feat when you're not even six inches tall.
Most praying mantises are brown or green in color, allowing them to blend in with their surroundings. This makes it harder for both predators and prey to see them. They hunt during the day and wait to ambush prey, pinning them down with spikes on their front legs. Adults eat moths, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects, as well as other praying mantises (cannibals!).
Praying Mantis Life Stages
The praying mantis has three life stages: egg, nymph, and adult. This is considered incomplete metamorphosis, where the juveniles look just like adults, only smaller. This is in contrast to complete metamorphosis, in which the organism has four life stages and juveniles look significantly different than adults. The fact that the praying mantis has three distinct life stages and undergoes incomplete metamorphosis classifies them as hemimetabolic. Rather than significantly changing shape after metamorphosis, the praying mantis just grows larger until its final size is achieved and its wings develop.
Many are aware of the praying mantis' reproduction, meaning that it's not uncommon for the female to kill the male during or shortly after mating. If the male does survive mating, he will die shortly naturally afterwards, so don't feel too bad for him. Mating occurs in fall and females lay between 100 and 400 eggs just before winter. About two weeks after fertilization takes place, females who don't mate will still lay eggs, but they do not hatch because they aren't fertilized. The female lays the eggs on a plant's stem or leaf and encases them in a frothy liquid from her abdomen. This froth eventually hardens, encasing the eggs and protecting them over winter. This casing is called ootheca.
As the temperature warms in the spring, the eggs begin to hatch. Juveniles hatch through a small valve leading out of the egg compartment. At this point they are called nymphs. Freshly hatched nymphs initially stay close to their hatching site and will try to eat each other. Eventually they leave, feeding on tiny insects like fruit flies. They continue growing through late spring and early summer, molting their exoskeleton as necessary during growth. It's not uncommon for a growing praying mantis to molt 10-12 times before reaching full size. The periods between molts are called instars.
Individuals become full-size adults by late summer, after which they continue hunting, feeding, and will eventually mate in late fall, starting the process over again. Many adult praying mantis species have wings that develop after their final molt. Predators of the praying mantis include bats, birds, frogs, spiders, and even fish.
Lesson Summary
The praying mantis is an insect with three distinct life stages, starting as an egg, continuously molting as a nymph, and voraciously eating and hunting as an adult. The term hemimetabolism is characterized by the three life stages and indicates incomplete metamorphosis. The praying mantis lives up to one year, dying after or during mating or laying eggs. Eggs are protected over the winter months by a casing called oothica. Praying mantises eat a variety of insects, as well as other praying mantises, and they are vicious ambush predators.
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