Photo of the Da8 88

Stick Mantid, Cameroon, 2006

Photograph by Mark Moffett

Most of the roughly 1,800 species of mantids—often called praying mantises—spend their time sitting and waiting, seemingly at prayer. These highly skilled hunters and masters of disguise have fascinated humans for thousands of years; the ancient Greeks first used the term mantis, meaning "prophet."

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Mantids: Armed and Dangerous," January 2006, National Geographic magazine)