Mantis

Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Assyria.  Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets. So take this friendly insect along and may he bring you luck with cache finding. But don't keep this one as a pet - he is meant to share, travel, and keep moving! 

This is a trackable item meant to move along and share. PLEASE DO NOT KEEP ME!

The word mantis comes from the Greek mantikos, for soothsayer or prophet. If you to sneak up on a praying mantis you may be startled when it looks over its shoulder at you. No other insect can do so. Praying mantids have a flexible joint between the head and prothorax that enables them to swivel their heads. Female praying mantids have been known to cannibalize their partners. In some instances, she'll even behead her boyfriend before they've consummated their relationship. As it turns out, a male mantid is an even better lover when his brain, which controls inhibition, is detached from his abdominal ganglion! 

The praying mantis is so named because when waiting for prey, it holds its front legs in an upright position as if they are folded in prayer. However, the mantid is a deadly predator. If a bee or fly happens to land within its reach, the praying mantis will extend its arms with lightning quick speed, and grab the insect. Sharp spines line the mantid's raptorial forelegs, enabling it to grasp the prey tightly as it eats. Some larger mantids catch and eat lizards, frogs, and even birds!

A praying mantis has 2 large, compound eyes that work together to help it decipher visual cues. Strangely, the praying mantis has just a single ear, located on the underside of its belly, just forward of its hind legs. This means the mantid cannot determine the direction of a sound, nor its frequency.