LYNN M. STONE / Praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) feeding on a Spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus) on a thistle, Durham, Connecticut, USA, August

Paul Harcourt Davies / European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) camouflaged within dried thistle stems. Italy, Europe.

Paul Harcourt Davies / European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) camouflaged within dried thistle stems. Italy, Europe

Wild Wonders of Europe / della Ferrera / Cone head mantis (Empusa fasciata) on Musk thistle (Carduus nutans macrocephalus) Hutovo Blato Nature Park, Bosnia and Herzegovina, May 2009

Thomas Marent / European Mantid (Mantis religiosa) in defensive posture on thistle, Switzerland