Praying mantises are fucking awesome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praying_mantis

They're liked by gardeners who don't want to use chemicals (although they do eat some neutral or beneficial insects, too, they eat far more bad ones.)

They're known for sexual cannibalism on the female's part, but apparently, this is OUR FAULT!, acc. to Wikipedia:

Sexual cannibalism is common among mantises in captivity, and under some circumstances may also be observed in the field. The female may start feeding by biting off the male’s head (as with any prey), and if mating had begun, the male’s movements may become even more vigorous in its delivery of sperm. Early researchers thought that because copulatory movement is controlled by ganglion in the abdomen, not the head, removal of the male’s head was a reproductive strategy by females to enhance fertilisation while obtaining sustenance. Later, this bizarre behaviour appeared to be an artifact of intrusive laboratory observation. Whether the behaviour in the field is natural, or also the result of distractions caused by the human observer, remains controversial. Mantises are highly visual creatures, and notice any disturbance occurring in the laboratory or field such as bright lights or moving scientists. Research by Liske and Davis (1987) and others found (e.g. using video recorders in vacant rooms) that Chinese mantises that had been fed ad libitum (so were not starving) actually displayed elaborate courtship behavior when left undisturbed. The male engages the female in courtship dance, to change her interest from feeding to mating. Courtship display has also been observed in other species, but it does not hold for all mantises.

Essentially, female mantises caught in the act decapitate their lovers and eat the results just to scare/entertain their human voyeurs. Fucking awesome.

And last but not least, this is what some mantises do when they're threatened. WOOOOOOOOH:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Praying_mantis_in_defense_pose.JPG

also for reference of their bad-ass-ness: PRAYING MANTIS CATCHES HUMMINGBIRD

And keep in mind that I think hummingbirds are awesome, too.