praying mantis

noun3

1. •
   Any of various predatory, cannibalistic insects of the order Mantodea that have a prayer-like stance.

   • When the female praying mantis is mating, she does not bite the head off the male with one swift snip: she chomps into it, like an apple. It appears to have the texture of a honeydew melon. — 2021
2. •
   European mantis: a mantid of the species Mantis religiosa.
3. •
   A woman who preys on men (from the idea that female praying mantises eat males after sex).