Is killing a praying mantis illegal in the U.S.?

No. But they kill and eat other "bad" bugs. I leave them alone for that reason. By the way:

Only one Spanish species, Apteromantis aptera, is listed as Lower Risk/Near Threatened. With one exception (the ground mantis Litaneutria minor in Canada, where it is rare - though it is common in the United States), North American mantises are not included among threatened or endangered species, though species in other parts of the world are under threat from habitat destruction. The European mantis (Mantis religiosa) is the state insect of Connecticut, but the General Statutes of Connecticut do not list any special protected status, as it is a non-native species from Europe and Northern Africa.[7]

Killing A Praying Mantis

Illegal To Kill Praying Mantis

No it's not. Not in the U.S. as a whole, anyway. However, like other countries animal cruelty is illegal but squashing a bug is not illegal. I would not recommend killing a praying mantis though. They are pretty, helpful, and fascinating creatures and they bring good luck! Sorry by the way if this isn't as informative as you'd like, but I tried googling PETA (animal rights organization) but I got a whole bunch of pictures of animal cruelty that you DONT want to see. I did find a pretty cool article on praying mantises though if you want that sort of thing:

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

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RE:

Is killing a praying mantis illegal in the U.S.?

If it is then why?! Just wondering...... I just think it's a bit weird and pretty random.

I don't believe it's illegal, but I don't see why you'd want to kill one. They're pretty much harmless unless you try to harm them. If you have one in your house, get a piece of newspaper, put it under the mantis, and put it outside. Or, if you find one outside, keep track of it. Don't put it in a cage or anything, just watch it where it is. You might be able to see it catch something, which is really cool.

No they are not an endangered species. So you can kill them if you wish. I recommend leaving them be or someday they will be endangered. My college friend told me the same thing, but I am in college studying these things. So to you and everyone else they are not endangered or protected in the usa so they can be killed.

No, just an urban legend. People think it is an endangered insect and, therefore illegal to kill. But, it is not true. I thought it was myself! Great question!

http://insects.about.com/b/2008/02/12/true-or-fals...

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I remember being told that too. I believe it is something told to kids to keep them from doing it. They make pretty neat pets though.

I could not tell you how many I killed when I was a kid.

Illegal , I do not think so. They are just bugs.