Definition of mantis in English:
mantis
(also praying mantis)
nounPlural mantises ˈmantɪsˈmæn(t)əs
A slender predatory insect with a triangular head, which waits motionless for prey with its large forelegs folded like hands in prayer.
Suborder Mantodea, order Dictyoptera: Mantidae and other families, and many species, including Mantis religiosa of southern Europe
- There is also a new predator - a South African preying mantis that grows far larger than the New Zealand native one.
- The mantis will attack butterflies, bees, beetles, frogs, spiders, mice, lizards, and small birds.
- In autumn children listen to singing insects, observe and play with red dragonflies, collect inago locusts, stage spider fights, watch mantises, and collect wasps' nests.
- A newcomer could easily get lost in its tunnels, and the unwary is easy prey to predatory wasps or mantises.
- It looks like a preying mantis, has a huge hook to snare its prey and is coming to a rocky shoreline near you.
- When Jerry comes in to interview the bed-bound man he looks like a preying mantis by comparison, as though the two men aren't even the same species.
- Spiders and butterflies and mantises, being pretty solitary for the most part, are easier to identify with.
- The common European mantis is classified as Mantis religiosa, while the Carolina mantis is classified as Stagmonantis carolina.
- The creatures look part stick insect, part mantis, with a touch of grasshopper.
- Like jackals around a tiger kill, small flies hovered around the feasting mantis, even daring to settle on its grotesque pea-like eyes.
- Praying mantises, unlike other insects, do not eat plant life; they are the outstanding cannibals of the insect world and devour even members of their own family.
- Middle Eastern people and Thais eat nearly all types of insect but foreigners tend to love the green mantis most.
- In The Temple of Doom, Indy walks through a chamber filled with mantises, beetles, worms, millipedes, moths, slugs, snails, and puppy dog tails.
- Perhaps they're a pair, I thought, and went indoors and fetched my mantis and placed him on the jasmine bush, opposite his fellow insect.
- Belle is like a dark mantis sneaking in for the kill.
- One mantis may be kept on its own as a pet and fed throughout the year.
- The team has also found that 300 milliseconds before the bat hits the mantis, the insect's auditory nerve goes completely dead.
- Instead of chemicals, their defense is based on ‘herds’ of preying mantises, scores of ladybugs, and armies of earthworms.
- Some insects also hunt down spiders, including the mantis and a wasp that specializes in catching and paralyzing spiders.
- When the cicada attacked, the mantis angled to the side and then pinned the cicada with its powerful forearms.
Origin
Mid 17th century: modern Latin, from Greek, literally 'prophet'.
Rhymes
Atlantis
Definition of mantis in US English:
mantis
(also praying mantis)
nounˈman(t)əsˈmæn(t)əs
A slender predatory insect related to the cockroach. It waits motionless for prey with its large spiky forelegs folded like hands in prayer.
Suborder Mantodea, order Dictyoptera: Mantidae and other families, and many species, including Mantis religiosa, introduced to America from southern Europe and now found commonly in the northeastern US
- It looks like a preying mantis, has a huge hook to snare its prey and is coming to a rocky shoreline near you.
- Like jackals around a tiger kill, small flies hovered around the feasting mantis, even daring to settle on its grotesque pea-like eyes.
- Spiders and butterflies and mantises, being pretty solitary for the most part, are easier to identify with.
- When the cicada attacked, the mantis angled to the side and then pinned the cicada with its powerful forearms.
- Praying mantises, unlike other insects, do not eat plant life; they are the outstanding cannibals of the insect world and devour even members of their own family.
- The mantis will attack butterflies, bees, beetles, frogs, spiders, mice, lizards, and small birds.
- There is also a new predator - a South African preying mantis that grows far larger than the New Zealand native one.
- In autumn children listen to singing insects, observe and play with red dragonflies, collect inago locusts, stage spider fights, watch mantises, and collect wasps' nests.
- Belle is like a dark mantis sneaking in for the kill.
- Middle Eastern people and Thais eat nearly all types of insect but foreigners tend to love the green mantis most.
- The creatures look part stick insect, part mantis, with a touch of grasshopper.
- The common European mantis is classified as Mantis religiosa, while the Carolina mantis is classified as Stagmonantis carolina.
- The team has also found that 300 milliseconds before the bat hits the mantis, the insect's auditory nerve goes completely dead.
- Some insects also hunt down spiders, including the mantis and a wasp that specializes in catching and paralyzing spiders.
- Instead of chemicals, their defense is based on ‘herds’ of preying mantises, scores of ladybugs, and armies of earthworms.
- When Jerry comes in to interview the bed-bound man he looks like a preying mantis by comparison, as though the two men aren't even the same species.
- In The Temple of Doom, Indy walks through a chamber filled with mantises, beetles, worms, millipedes, moths, slugs, snails, and puppy dog tails.
- Perhaps they're a pair, I thought, and went indoors and fetched my mantis and placed him on the jasmine bush, opposite his fellow insect.
- A newcomer could easily get lost in its tunnels, and the unwary is easy prey to predatory wasps or mantises.
- One mantis may be kept on its own as a pet and fed throughout the year.
Origin
Mid 17th century: modern Latin, from Greek, literally ‘prophet’.