Close-up footage shows an Australian praying mantis build a protective case around her eggs.

The cool video from April 24 shows the insect ejects a frothy foam from her abdomen, which hardens into the protective case.

Also known as an ootheca, this protective case contains up to 200 eggs each which takes anywhere from 40 days to around five months to hatch.

jacobmakesciencefun, the filmer told Newsflare: "The first part of the video is live, the second part is timelapsed. It took about 30 minutes for the praying mantis to construct the entire egg case before flying away."