This is the amazing moment a praying mantis sneaked behind a lanternfly before devouring it.

The mantis was slowly moving its thin legs forward to the winged hopper before striking and biting its back.

Insect enthusiast Jackie Price saw the rare encounter at the back of her house in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Jackie said she was going to clean the yard that day and saw the praying mantis while hunting.

She said: ‘I was surprised when I saw the mantis eat the fly. I don’t usually see them hunting other insects for food.’

The praying mantis hunts either by waiting quietly or stalking smaller creatures.

It can rotate its head almost 300 degrees and camouflages so it is considered as one of the most skilled hunters among insects.