A male California mantis (Stagmomantis californica) lies in wait on a dying common tarweed in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice. Mantises are insects in the order Mantodea. They are exclusively predatory and are beneficial in gardens. They will ambush and eat any insect or other animal that is small enough for them to catch. Their nearest insect relatives are cockroaches and termites.
The California mantis is the mantis species that is native to the Yuba-Sutter area and to most of California. Though commonly referred to as a "praying mantis," it is a different species than the European one that is referred to as a "praying mantis" in Europe. The European praying mantis has been introduced to California but is less common here than the California mantis.
Female mantises can be distinguished from male mantises by the fact that the females have wider abdomens. Female mantises often, but not always, eat male mantises during or immediately after mating. This behavior may be somewhat more common in captivity than in the wild.
