It’s not every day that you see a gorgeous praying mantis. They are a delicate and elusive creature that thrive in only certain environments. So, it’s even more rare to see one to lay eggs which then result in beautiful, exotic little babies. Praying mantises get a bad rap because they look evil (and the females allegedly attack the males after mating), but we think they are amazing.  This Reddit user was able to catch this amazing process on film. It all started 38 weeks before, and he said it was the coolest thing he’s ever witnessed.

First, the female lays the eggs…

 

Each egg sac typically contains 40-100 tiny eggs.

 

 

Then… around 35-40 weeks later, the magic happens!

 

See all of the teeny, tiny mantises?

 

The little mantises are known as nymphs.

 

They aren’t fully developed yet, but they are cute as a button.

 

Over time, they will grow wings and genitalia.

 

 

As mantises grow, they grow a hardened exoskeleton and then shed it (known as “molting”).

 

These guys are just so cute I can’t stand it.

 

 

They may look cute, but even these tiny guys are ferocious insects. They look like little army guys heading into battle.

 

Farmers even use mantises as a natural pest control, since they feast on the harmful bugs.

 

They are basically very helpful ninjas.

 

D’awwwww.

 

I want one.

Source

It might have taken weeks to come to fruition, but this is way better than watching a silly old butterfly hatch from a cocoon. Okay, maybe not.

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