Usually, a small-sized praying mantis will feed off ants, flies and small crickets. However, it is not only visual appearance that may be different. All rights reserved. After all, it could be lunch. Even worse, she might just bite his head off mid-intercourse. An example of a parasite that can infiltrate the body of a praying mantis is the horsehair worm which will leave the body of the praying mantis once the praying mantis dies. Praying mantises are insects that need to breathe to survive and thats why they wouldnt be able to survive in environments that lack oxygen. Mantises like to climb around and hide among leaves to ambush their prey. 5. A female praying mantis is capable of laying multiple egg cases (oothecae) over the following weeks and months. It is actually the opposite, and the continuation of the species only goes to show that death through mating is a successful mating strategy. It is hard or even not possible to count the segments when you look at its back. However, that doesnt mean that there is no difference between males and females. But if you're a male praying mantis, it can literally eat you alive. Humidity is extremely imporant for a praying mantis.