This is a praying mantis I found walking down the sidewalk near Animal Sciences, where I work. (That is to say, it was walking down the sidewalk, though I suppose I was, too.) Specifically, it's a Chinese praying mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis. I think it's a female, since it looks like it has only six segments in its abdomen.

One cool thing about this insect is how her eyes always seem to be looking at you. You can see how in the first picture, it seems to have dark pupils that follow you around. Of course it doesn't really. It just has typical compound eyes comprising hundreds of tiny hexagonal cylinders. The cylinders are long and radiate out somewhat spherically, so only the ones pointing toward you appear dark (the color at the other end of the tube). The ones pointing off-axis are tan, colored like the sides of the cylinder. (To see how this works, grab a few dozen drinking straws and hold them fairly close to your eyes.)

It's not easy to photograph this thing. It scared the hell out of me when I was in really tight (a couple of inches) for a macro shot, and it flew up onto the camera! It seems to be very curious, and very suspicious of the camera lens (a huge, unfriendly eye!). It kept its head pointed toward the lens at all times (reminds me of when I tried to photograph a snake), which made it difficult to get profile shots.