They are correctly known as Praying Mantis - there are different schools of thought about this insect, I just leave them be. Live and let live.

Since it's very large, it may be the invasive Chinese mantis. Please google "carolina mantis or chinese mantis" to see the difference.

The Asian Mantis is not part of NA ecosystems. They eat large amounts of butterflies, which are dissapearing, and they are large enough to eat the native Carolina Mantis and hummingbirds. It's a good idea to kill them. I dont feel good about killing things, but these Asian Mantis grusomely eat their prey while still alive, and the kill the males after or during mating.

Thanks for the linked info.... good to know what to look for in the spring. Do you think there is more than one? What eats them?

I wonder how I end up with one in the garden? And it is really large, so it's been around awhile. First time I've seen it this season, but, I haven't been out in the garden as much. I hope I see it tomorrow and I definitely will take care of it because my asters are just opening and I usually see more Monarchs than any other time. There were only those white cabbage butterflies in the garden this week, and really all I see on the sedum are bees. Does anyone know if they eat bees?

For some reason they are disturbing looking [g]. This one is definitely the chinese one. I don't enjoy killing anything either and I normally believe in letting the ecosystem of the garden figure itself out, but when it is an introduction and we have so many insects struggling to maintain their numbers, It feels wrong to leave it there. That's why I got rid of them last year. I don't even have any bugs in the garden that I'd be happy for it to eat, like an asian beetle. [g]

Really think about this, would killing one insect change anything? It is like trying to eradicate chipmunks or mice - if you were to kill one it would only be replaced with another of its kind that would take its place. Yesterday I emailed a good friend that is an entomologist, asking what her thoughts were on the Chinese species of mantis, haven't heard back yet.

Well, I looked around for it today and it didn't make an appearance.

Here is a photo of the one we had last year.....

Jeb, I would be interested to hear what your Entomologist friend has to say if he ever gets back to you. Thanks.

Yes, they eat bees and butterflies.

Sad to learn through this thread that I almost certainly have a Chinese mantis in my garden. I think they're beautiful and would really struggle to kill it even knowing it's not great for my ecosystem. It would certainly be the largest insect I ever squished!

Coincidentally, a five inch mantis was stationed beside my porch light yesterday. Long handled pruning shears allowed me to reach it. I need to keep an eye out for egg cases this fall. They look like styrofoam golf balls.

Well, I forgot about this Preying Mantis and today I was waterng and I saw it again and this time it was probably double the size it was the last time. I asked my husband to take care of it and he reluctantly did. I won't even explain, but we were both taken by surprise that it was so aggressive. Much harder to take care of then the last time we had two to dispose of that were half that size.