I love bugs. But most of all I love praying mantids! Here is a picture of me and a female. I can tell it's a female because I found her and 1/2 of her mate on her back and now she is carrying an egg case! The picture on the left is the praying mantis on my face and the picture on the right is the praying mantis on my hand. I am going to tell you a story about a very very ill mantis I found:
One fine morning I was just minding my own business when my sister Megan brought me a dead praying mantis. Or so she thought. I was showing my mom, and then it kicked its leg!
I got a little bottle cap and put a dab of milk in it. Then I fed the milk to the praying mantis by dabbing my finger in the milk, and touching the mantis's face.
While I was feeding it, it was clinging to my fingers with its little poker-thingies that it grabs its food with. I fed it for a little while, then I got a piece of cloth and laid it on a little bug bed, and made it a Get Well Soon card. Really, I did.
We went to some friends' house. When we got back, I discovered a tragic event. The praying mantis (sniff) was dead.
I flushed it down the toilet as I sang Amazing Grace.
The end.

PS. I promise this is a true story.