The Truth About Fines Levied If You Kill a Praying Mantis

My Introduction to Good Insects as a Four Year Old

One of the most persistent and widely held urban legends is that it is illegal to kill a praying mantis. The legend includes a fine of $50 levied on anyone who breaks this law. This is a total fabrication. The praying mantis legend was spread because of the belief that this is a totally benevolent insect, which feeds on harmful insects or human pests such as the spider, the mosquito, locusts, etc.

I have believed this myth since I was 4 years old. I was awakened one morning to find the single biggest insect I had ever seen staring at me from my bedroom ceiling. "Mommy" I shouted. Almost immediately the cavalry in the form of my Mother arrived to save me. She told me not to be frightened it was only a praying mantis. She explained to me how this was a very special insect that eats all the bad insects and is even protected by law since it is so good.

She brought in a folding chair and stood on it. Gently she nudged it onto her hand and brought it down for me to see. It was very pretty with a long and lean body and red eyes. What was even more interesting was that the mantis seemed very intelligent, moving its head from her to me as if trying to figure out why we had interrupted its daily stroll. It didn't seem frightened at all. Mom let me pet it and I was so excited by my meeting a bug that was truly a friend to mankind.

She told me the truth as she knew it that they were such good insects that anyone who killed one would be fined $50. At the time that was a whole lot of money. I was in awe of such a highly valued creature. After a couple of minutes we opened a window and let it walk out onto a bush just below us.

To this day I love to meet praying mantises and in fact every year for the last ten years or so, one large one turns up on the holly bush right outside my door. Sometimes it lays eggs and little tiny praying mantises cover the top of the entire bush for a few hours. I always consider this yearly meeting a good omen of things to come.