The Crazy Girlfriend Praying Mantis meme features an image macro template consisting of a praying mantis photographed against a visually calming blue and teal colorwheel background. This template often contains captions that portray the mantis as an overly attached, irrational, or obsessive girlfriend speaking to her partner.
This meme originated from a post on Reddit on February 1st, 2011. The original meme used a color drawing of a praying mantis. A commenter, JakeCameraAction, suggested switching to a real photograph of a praying mantis, which became the version commonly used. The concept behind this meme links to the behavior of female praying mantises that are known for sexual cannibalism, where the female may kill and eat the male before, during, or after mating.[1]
Origin: 2011