Don Shattuck, age 10, of Nogales, Ariz., for his question:

WHY DO WE CALL IT A PRAYING MANTIS?

A mantis is a long, slender insect that seems to be praying when it is standing still. It received its name from its appearance. Mantis comes from a Greek word meaning "prophet."

There are about 800 species in the mantis family and about 20 of them are found in North America. The most common are the European mantis and the Chinese mantis, which probably arrived as egg cases on plants.

The native North American mantis lives in tropical or subtropical climates. In the fall the female makes an egg case out of a sticky substance she produces in her body. As many as 1,000 young may hatch from one egg case in the spring.

Perhaps the praying mantis should be called the "preying" mantis. It lives on other insects and gets them by sitting still with its traplike front feet ready to snap at the first insect that comes by. It holds the insect firmly and slowly eats it like someone eating an ear of corn. Its triangular head turns from side to side as it eats or watches for prey.

The praying mantis moves about by walking on its four hind legs or by flying. All species found in Canada and the United States have brown or green wings and are about two inches long.