Claim: this is a photo of Empusa pennata AKA the Cone-head Mantis

Photo credit: Hi friends by Mehmet Karaca

The photo is real. However, as @PicPedant pointed out, it appears to be staged.

Fotoforensics report shows clear signs of tampering.  Neal Krawetz aka @Hackerfactor also analyzed the photo and provided a histogram view:

Observations:

• The photo has been manipulated and staged
• Apparently someone has tried to erase a thin horizontal line from the photo. This thin line is most likely a wire that propped up the mantises
• The histogram image shows 1) vertical line holding the legs and 2) horizontal line connecting the waists. These lines are most likely wires

@PicPedant wrote:

Reminder that there is an industry of abusing and manipulating unlikely animal photos to produce “cute” viral shots

Another example of a viral “cute” frog photo (photo credit: Shikhei Goh):

Update #1: two frogs

This photo by Ajar Setiadi is often shared by the picture accounts.

Analysis by Neal Krawetz:

Update 2: another photo of two mantises

This photo looked suspicious. I was requested to remove the photo from this blog. However, the forensic analysis link is still available.

Analysis:

In both cases the analysis suggests that wires/strings were used to control the animals. Both photos were also submitted to a National Geographic photo contest.

Further reading:

– The Cruel Cost of “Cute”
– Pseudo-nature Photographers
– Photo Analysis Accuses Some Photogs of Faking Cute Animal Photos in Cruel Ways