- This page is about the episode. For the species of mantis, see European Mantis.
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“Praying Mantis” is the 23rd episode of Season 3 of the PBS Kids show Wild Kratts. It is the 89th episode of the series overall. It premiered on August 12, 2014.
In this episode, Wild Kratts kids Gavin and Ronan wake up to find praying mantis hatchlings all over their room. The Wild Kratts arrive to get the two out while not trampling over any hatchlings. Meanwhile, Zach Varmitech develops an increasing grudge against the Wild Kratts.
Plot[]
The episode opens with the Kratt brothers in the eastern woodlands of North America just as autumn is starting. They are looking for a specific bug and it just so happens that that bug is on Martin's back: a praying mantis. Praying mantises may be big insects, but they're actually really harmless to humans. And easy to pick up too. As they examine the praying mantis they found, they wonder what it would be like to have Praying Mantis Power and the show transitions into the animated segment.
In a suburban neighborhood in North America, Wild Kratts kids Gavin and Ronan wake up to find praying mantis hatchlings are eeverywhere. A while back, the two boys found a cocoon, but didn't know what creature made it until now. They do not want to crush any mantises so after Gavin uses his fishing pole to snag their Creature Pod, Ronan uses it to call the Wild Kratts for help. The Kratt brothers are playing "guess what creature I am" when they receive the kids' message. After being alerted of the situation, the team immediately springs into action.
Meanwhile, Zach Varmitech becomes interested in praying mantises and the "praying" part comes from. So he urges his Zachbots to keep spying on his enemies.
The Kratts suit up with Gecko Powers and the Tortuga lands near the boys’ house. They climb on the ceiling of the boys’ room and carry them out the window, avoiding the babies on the floor of the room. After deactivating their Creature Power Suits, Chris, Martin, Aviva, Gavin, and Ronan miniaturize. They head into the room and start collecting the hatchlings while Koki and Jimmy guard the Miniaturizer and help move the baby mantises out into the trees. After safely bringing the mantis hatchlings outside, the Kratt brothers show the kids and Aviva the features of praying mantises. Unbeknownst to them, one of Zach Varmitech’s Zachbots pinches off a leaf with a praying mantis on it and brings it to Zach’s ship.
Aviva and Martin return to normal size and head back to the Tortuga to start designing Praying Mantis Creature Power Suits. On the other hand, Zach inserts a praying mantis he captured into a pair of extending arms. He drops down in front of Koki and Jimmy, who are still guarding the Miniaturizer, and uses the extending arms to seize the Miniaturizer. He then kidnaps the two Wild Kratts members and confines them in his ship. Chris and the boys find out and head up to his ship. Aviva finishes the Praying Mantis Power Disc, and Martin activates his Mantis Power Suit. He attacks the Zachbots guarding Zach’s ship. Zach uses the Miniaturizer to enlarge his Zachbots to attack Martin, but Martin makes a quick work of the large Zachbots, but once they reach a much larger size than him, Martin gets captured. However, suddenly, Aviva appears out of the Tortuga in her own Mantis Power Suit. She is much larger than Martin and frees Martin after destroying the Zachbots that bound him. Zach says he needs giant-size Zachbots and goes to look for the Miniaturizer, but it's not where he left it anymore. He finds out that Chris took it and demands the latter to give it back. She captures Zach and humiliates him. Zach yells at her and tells her not to eat him. Aviva is disgusted by this, but she tells Zach that she will let him go if he promises never to bother harmless animals ever again. Zach says that he promises and Aviva lets him go. Koki and Jimmy are freed by Gavin. Chris tells Zach to hand over the praying mantis he captured. Zach refuses to do it and tells Chris that he's not the boss of him. Aviva reminds Zach about his promise by scratching him, and Zach gives up the praying mantis he captured for his extending arms and admits defeat. Aviva rescues the rest of the Wild Kratts members and tells them that she is going to have a fun with a little guy who bugs her. Aviva grabs Zach's jet and plays with him. Zach yells at her to let him go. Aviva lets him go and the jet flies away out of control. Zach retreats in his ship. Aviva tells that she could catch him if she wanted to. Martin says that praying mantis powers rule while flying.
The show transitions into the ending live-action segment, which shows the Kratt brothers and some kids finding praying mantises in the bushes. Afterward, they conclude the episode by saying “Keep on creature adventuring; we’ll see you on the creature trail!”
Characters[]
Only Hearable[]
Animals[]
Animation[]
Note: Featured animals are in bold.
- European Mantis (called Praying mantis)
- Tokay Gecko (called Gecko)
- Milk Snake (called Snake)
- Peppered Moth
Poster Images[]
Mentioned[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
Live Action[]
Note: Live action animals are linked to Wikipedia.
- Giant Asian mantis (called Giant praying mantis)
- Indonesian double shield mantis (called Double shield praying mantis)
- Prickly stick insect
Trivia[]
- A black jaguar cub (possibly Shadow) makes a cameo on a Wild Kratts poster.
- After the Kratt brothers activate Gecko Powers, they do the same poses from “The Gecko Effect” after they activated Gecko Powers. This is the second time they use Gecko Powers.
- When Martin is miniaturized and under Gavin or Ronan's bed, he gets chased by a toy monkey playing the cymbals. This is a reference to the famous "Jolly Chimp" toy, a mechanical monkey holding a cymbal in each hand that bangs them together when activated.
- Chris and Martin wear their top part of their Creature Power Suits without the gloves for more than a second.
- Aviva's Power Suit was inaccurate in size as female praying mantis are only twice as big a males which would make Aviva around 10-12 feet tall rather than big enough to hold a jet back. However, it was previously shown that there is an innate size-altering function in the Creature Power Suits, which, while mostly used to miniaturize the user into the creature's size, can also be adjusted in order to allow them to remain in their normal size.
- This is the second time Aviva appears using her own Creature Power Suit, and her first activation of Season 3.
- This is the first time any of the Wild Kratts kids get miniaturized.
- This is the second time Zach has stolen the miniaturizer.
- Although Zach promised to not bother any harmless animals ever again, he still continues to do so in the series. He was probably saying this in panic, hoping to get away, because even Aviva doesn't believe him.
- This is the first and thus far only time Martin and Chris are in a different pose when they "What If?" into the animation.
- The scene with Ronan's soccer ball was a reference to the real life Ronan Kratt's skills playing Soccer. As an adult, he now is a professional player, being on teams in multiple series, including the Canadian Premier League!
Key Facts and Creature Moments[]
- Praying mantis catch their prey with their powerful spiked raptorial forearms.
- Praying mantis have excellent eyesight for spotting prey.
- Praying mantis rely on camouflage and stealth to ambush and catch prey like large insects, small reptiles and small birds.
- A male praying mantis can fly while a female can't due to it's size and weight.
- Female praying mantises are larger than male praying mantises.
- A female mantis will eat the male if the opportunity presents itself.
- Mantis nymphs hatching and emerging from an egg case.