The Praying Mantis: One Cool Bug!

They praying mantis is a cool bug!  I've seen several around my yard lately, so I did a little research and found some interesting facts. 

There are over 2,000 species of praying matis worldwide.

Praying mantis on my back door.

Strictly carnivorous, they are the only insects that can swivel their head a full 180 degrees.  What's more, they have very keen compound eyes capable of spotting their prey a full 50 feet away!

Most random fun fact?  Most mantids have a single ear in the form of a slit near their legs.  The ear has two eardrums tuned to 26-60 kHz which allows them to hear ultrasonic sounds such as bats which are natural predators.

Cool, hu?

Here's a little baby praying mantis I spotted on my grill one afternoon.

Click here to find out more about the praying mantis.