Abstract
2 species of the praying mantids (Mantodea) – Mantis religiosa (Linnaeus, 1758) and Iris polystictica (Fischer-Waldheim, 1846) are reported from the Kulunda steppe by the collections from Altai Krai of Russian Federation and Pavlodar Province of the Republic of Kazakhstan, supported by published data. Short review of morphology, ecology and distribution of these species is given.