The easiest way to tell if your praying mantis is a male or female is by counting the segments of its body. Let me explain a little more.
Female praying mantises have six abdominal sections to their body. This is easy to count on larger or older praying mantises, but may be difficult to see on younger insects.
Male praying mantises
Unlike their female counterparts, male praying mantises have a total of eight abdominal sections to their body. Again, this may be difficult to see in younger insects.
Some other common indicators
- The antennae on male praying mantises are usually longer than those on female insects.
- Female praying mantises are more often than not a lot thinner than their male counterparts.
- Male praying mantises generally have much longer wings than the female insects.
