The order of Mantodea is a fascinating group of predatory insects. The name derives from the Greek word for a prophet or seer, an initial comparison to the Mantids habit of standing still for long periods of time with their forelegs held folded up before them, an attitude reminiscent of a person in prayer. The members of this order occupy various habitats and they play a vital role in the natural control of insect pests. Some groups live in dense tropical rainforests distributed around the equator, whereas others reside in arid forests and deserts from Africa to Australia and yet others occur in many of the temperate zones of the world such as Southern Europe, North America, Canada and South Africa. There are about 2452 named species, distributed in 446 genera (Otte, Spearman 2005).