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Praying mantids are some of the most exotic carnivorous insects commonly kept as pets. The praying mantis gets its name from the Greek term meaning "soothsayer" or "prophet" with the way it holds its front raptorial arms, which resemble a person in prayer. Mantids, surprisingly, are related to cockroaches. Over the last several years the mantis hobby has blown up in increasingly large numbers because of the fact that mantids make such excellent pets in captivity (with the exception of a few species that are extremely fragile and have a high mortality rate).

There are currently 2,200 to 2,500 identified species of mantids alive, and their habitat ranges from hot, arid locations such as Israel or Egypt, to tropical locations such as Boreno or Ecuador. Most exotic mantids come from regions outside of the United States. Mantids come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the species, from 15 millimeters to almost a foot long. Though the average prey for a mantid are insects such as moths and crickets, there have been documentations of mantids eating snakes, reptiles, mice, and even hummingbirds!