I love Praying Mantis! I have very fond memories of them.
One time I caught one in 5th grade and took it to science class. I kept it in a nice size critter keeper with Astroturf and a branch. It lived almost the entire year- one of my parents would bring crickets and/or meal worms from the pet store every Friday. She even laid egg sacks that hatched!
Sorry that this story's so long! It just reminded me of that.
