Praying mantises are highly visual, sophisticated predatory invertebrates whose welfare status is uncertain but increasingly discussed as part of broader insect sentience and invertebrate ethics conversations.
Praying mantis welfare sits in the uncertain zone of invertebrate ethics: their behavioral sophistication and individual personality variation suggest some form of experience, but the neural substrate differs substantially from vertebrates with well-established sentience. The precautionary principle suggests taking potential welfare seriously for animals showing this level of behavioral complexity. Captive mantis welfare requires appropriate prey, thermal conditions, humidity, and space for display behaviors. The pet trade's scale creates both welfare concerns for individual captive mantises and conservation concerns for wild populations from collection.