What did praying mantises evolve from? u2014 Tara, 12, Texas Dear Tara, When you think of the Jurassic periu00adod, you might think of dinosaurs. But all kinds of insects roamed the Earth back then. That includes the ancient relatives of praying mantises. Some mantises died and fossilized into rock or amber. That preserved them for hundreds of millions of years. <a href="https://hastingsbanner.com/articles/viewpoints/evolutionary-relationships-of-praying-mantises/">[…]</a>