Jouan & Rius / Praying mantis defensive display, Similajau NP, Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia

Alex Hyde / Spiny flower mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii) in threat display with wings extended showing eye spots on wing cases. Captive, originating from Africa.

Alex Hyde / Spiny flower mantis (Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii) shedding skin. Captive, originating from Africa.

Rod Williams / Peacock praying mantis (Pseudempusa pinnapavonis) female with colourful wings open in defensive display. Captive, found in Thailand. May

Rod Williams / Peacock praying mantis (Pseudempusa pinnapavonis) female in defensive display with colourful wings. Captive, found in Thailand.

Michael D. Kern / Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) camouflaged on orchid flower, captive, from SE Asia

Tim Laman / Praying mantis (Mantodea) green leaf mimic type walking along a mossy branch in lowland rainforest, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Paul Harcourt Davies / European praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) camouflaged on leaf, Tuscany, Italy

Philip Dalton / Eruopean praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) and brown cricket on flowers, Europe

Wild Wonders of Europe / Möllers / Female European praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) portrait, Sardinia, Italy, September 2008. WWE INDOOR EXHIBITION

Michel Poinsignon / European praying mantis {Mantis religiosa} on hawthorn berries, Lorraine, France

Wild Wonders of Europe / Zankl / Mantis on vegetation near the sand dunes, Dalyan Delta, Turkey, August 2009