How Many Legs Does a Praying Mantis have? – Praying Mantis Legs

Of course praying mantis has four legs just like most other insects around the world. However, unlike other insects, the mantis’ legs are just a little too complex and strange. The unorthodox standing posture of a mantis is only one of its kind. The way they stand and grab their prey, mantises don’t really have any resemblance to any other species whatsoever.

The front legs or perhaps arms of a mantis are modified in a way that should facilitate her to capture its prey. There are claws attached to the end of its arms. These claws make sure that the prey doesn’t get away once the mantis captures it.

Nonetheless, if you take forelegs of a mantis as its arms then it probably has six legs instead of four. You’ll be surprised to know that mantises can stand on two legs so they can use their forelegs together with their arms. By so doing, mantises can employ its defense and offense skills rather effectively because only their two legs are engaged while the other four are free to serve.

Praying Mantis Legs – Video

References

Roy, Roger (1999). “Morphology and Taxonomy”. In Prete, Fredrick R.; Wells, Harrington; Wells, Patrick H.; Hurd, Lawrence E. The Praying Mantids. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 21–33. ISBN 978-0-8018-6174-1.