Why make a giant mantis? I think most people find Praying Mantises fascinating on some level. In the insect world, they bear a certain gravitas, much as the lion is king of the jungle. In parts of Africa, there are mantises large enough to attack birds--an astounding thought. I know people who are terrified by Praying Mantises, and I have never known a child who wasn't mesmerized by the appearance of a mantis, whether in fear or delight. Once when my sons were young, one of them kept an egg sack by his bed all winter, and the next spring, dozens of perfectly formed miniature mantises filled the house.