ABSTRACT
Metamorphosis: Paurometabolous, with egg, larval, and adult stages. (Fig. 14.1.)
Reproductive behavior: Most mantids seen in the field are females, usually with eggs developing in the enlarged abdomen. The numerous eggs are laid in large cases made of a paperlike material and glued to a twig or small branch
(rarely to the side of a building). Larvae overwinter in this egg case and emerge early in the spring. They are carnivorous and will eat one another if kept in a confined area. The adult female has the macabre habit of immediately eating the male (shown in Fig. 14.1) as soon as courtship and mating are over, although in natural surroundings the male sometimes escapes.
