What is "mantis"

Mantis \Man"tis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? a prophet.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of voracious orthopterous insects of the genus Mantis, and allied genera. They are predacious long-bodied large-eyed insects of warm regions, are remarkable for their slender grotesque forms, and for holding their stout anterior legs in a manner suggesting hands folded in prayer. The common American species is Mantis Carolina.

Mantis shrimp. (Zo["o]l.) The Squilla, a tropical marine burrowing crustacean with large grasping appendages. Also called mantis crab and mantis prawn.

1650s, "type of insect that holds its forelegs in a praying position" (especially the praying mantis, Mantis religiosa), Modern Latin, from Greek mantis, literally "one who divines, a seer, prophet," from mainesthai "be inspired," related to menos "passion, spirit" (see mania). The insect so called for its way of holding the forelimbs as if in prayer. Also used in Greek for some sort of grasshopper (Theocritus).

n. 1 Any of various large insects of the order ''Mantodea'' that catch insects or other small animals with their powerful forelegs. 2 A green colour, like that of a mantis.

1. n. predacious long-bodied large-eyed insect of warm regions; rests with forelimbs raised as in prayer [syn: mantid]

2. [also: mantes (pl)]

Mantis, in comics, may refer to:

• Mantis (DC Comics), a supervillain in Jack Kirby's Fourth World
• Mantis (Marvel Comics), a former member of the Avengers and current member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Mantis is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Forever People #2 (vol. 1, June 1971), and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby.

Mantis is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a former member of the Avengers. The character was ranked 99th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

She will make her cinematic debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, portrayed by Pom Klementieff.

The genus Mantis is in the family Mantidae, of the mantis order Mantodea.

Some of its species have the common name "praying mantis."

Mantis is the sixth studio album by progressive rock band Umphrey's McGee. The album was released on January 20, 2009. The album became available for pre-order on October 27, 2008.

Along with the pre-order announcement came information that unique bonus content would be available and more content would unlock depending on how many pre-orders were placed. This unusual method of distribution has been hailed as the "perfect way to implement a pre-order campaign".

The band has also continued to offer more bonus content to all purchasers of the album by releasing tracks online through PUSH Entertainment. To access the content the physical CD is used as a key for logging onto the PUSH website. Live songs, some previously unreleased, have been added as well as the album's extended liner notes. The bonus PUSH content has been updated every month since the album's release.

Unlike previous studio releases, Mantis is almost completely composed of material that the band had not played live prior to the album release. Over their 2008 New Year's Eve run "Made To Measure" made its live debut and was played again at the album release show with the addition of "Cemetery Walk." Several tracks feature sections similar to previous live improvisations (known to the band and fans as "Jimmy Stewarts"). Some of the music had been in the works as early as 1994.

Mantis is the common name of any insect in the order Mantodea, also commonly known as praying mantises.

The word itself means " prophet" in Latin and Greek . This may also refer to:

In biology:

• Mantis (genus), a genus of mantises
• Mantis shrimp, also known as stomatopods, predatory crustaceans
• Mantidfly (Mantispidae), a small predatory insects whose front legs are similar to those of a praying mantis

In comics:

• Mantis (DC Comics), a supervillain in Jack Kirby's Fourth World
• Mantis (Marvel Comics), a member of The Avengers

In computing:

• MANTIS, a programming language or an application generator marketed by Cincom
• Mantis Bug Tracker, a SQL database driven PHP bug tracking system
• MANTIS (Multimodal Networks of In-situ Sensors), an operating system for wireless sensor networks

In games:

• Psycho Mantis, a boss in the videogame Metal Gear Solid
• The name of an alien insect-like race in the real-time strategy computer game Conquest: Frontier Wars
• The name of an alien race in the MMORPG Pirate Galaxy
• XF5700 Mantis, a space sim by MicroPlay in 1992
• A powered exoskeleton/armored fighting vehicle used in Halo 4

In film and television:

• The Deadly Mantis, a 1957 film featuring a giant mantis
• M.A.N.T.I.S., a superhero television series

In sports and martial arts:

• Jeremy Coney former New Zealand cricket captain's nickname was "The Mantis"
• Mantis, the name of a pro wrestler for NWA Pro Wrestling Xpress
• Ultra Mantis, the name of a pro wrestler for Chikara
• Northern Praying Mantis, a martial art
• Southern Praying Mantis, a martial art

In other uses:

• The Mantis, one of the most elusive and deadly human-killing "mechs" (mechanical lifeforms) in Gregory Benford's Galactic Center Saga novels
• A dreamtime trickster character in San ( Bushmen) folklore, see Cagn
• Mantis (roller coaster), a former stand-up roller coaster replaced by Rougarou (roller coaster)
• Marcos Mantis GT, a British sports car
• Mantis, a monster from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers based on the mantis
• BAE Mantis, an unmanned air vehicle developed by BAE Systems
• Mantis (album), a 2009 studio album by progressive rock/jam band Umphrey's McGee
• Nächstbereichschutzsystem MANTIS, a very short-range protection system of the German Army intended for base-protection

Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species and about 430 genera in 15 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids" ). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have fore legs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with fore arms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.

They are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation. Occasionally, the females decapitate the males just before or during mating.

The closest relatives of mantises are the termites and cockroaches ( Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects ( Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers ( Orthoptera), or other insects with raptorial fore legs such as mantisflies ( Mantispidae).

Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Assyria. A cultural trope popular in cartoons imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets.