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You're listening to Discovery from the BBC World Service.
I'm Adam Hart and this is Tooth and Claw,
the series where I explore our complex and challenging relationships with Earth's greatest predators through the people who have spent their lives studying,
protecting and at times narrowly escaping them.
Today's predator is immediately recognisable through its bulging eyes and triangular head.
but it's most famous for its raptorial front legs,
which it uses to grasp, trap and even impale its prey.
These insects have been known to predate animals of a size much larger than themselves,
including birds, lizards and frogs, which these masters of camouflage ambush.
Known to eat their prey alive, and at times cannibalistic,
they have been considered beings of supernatural powers by ancient civilizations.
We are, of course, talking about the praying mantis.
Joining me are Dr. Julio Rivera,
an entomologist and researcher at the Université de Montreal in Canada,
and research associate at the Montreal Intersectarium,
and Dr. Bianca Hrevenstein, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwest University in Potsdam,
who is an expert in the praying mantises of South Africa.
Bianca, starting with you, where did praying mantises get their name from?
Well, the word mantis...