One of the oddest parts of being a female praying mantis is the way they go about mating. We all know how mating usually goes but this is a little different. First, mating occurs and the female lays between 10 and 400 eggs. Then, after the ritual is over, the female has been known to bite off the head of its male partner. This takes place more often in captivity than in the wild and the reasons behind this mating ritual is still not completely known.