I was practically hiding behind my bed, making sure it didn’t try to sneak up on me. I didn’t know enough about praying mantises to know whether or not they could harm humans.
Praying mantises live all around the world but are particularly abundant, or common, in Thailand and elsewhere in Asia. They often live in rainforests and dry forests in temperate and tropical climates.
By doing a quick Google search for “praying mantis harmful,” I learned that they are fortunately harmless to humans. This is one reason why mantises are kept as household pets surprisingly often. They don’t need to be taken to the veterinarian, they don’t shed and they don’t make noise. To me, that sounds like an ideal roommate!
After letting the mantis hang out in my room overnight, I woke up in the morning and saw that it had flown over to the drapes on the other side of the room. When I approached it, it turned its head to me and looked directly at my face. Mantises have the unique ability to turn their heads, just like humans. I decided in that moment to name it Jonny. Jonny the praying mantis.
Not only are praying mantises harmless to humans, but they also help out by killing and eating certain pests like flies, aphids and ticks, which either bite humans or eat their vegetables and plants. Using its long, green body and the environment that surrounds it, the mantis can camouflage itself by blending in with tree leaves. As an ambush insect, it waits for prey to come within striking distance, and then swiftly traps it within its long, spiked forearms. The mantis then devours its prey alive.
