Welcome to the Mantis section. This area is comprised of several parts, the introduction (this page), the how to breed mantis page and the ootheca care and hatching page.
Introduction to Mantis
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Praying Mantis or Mantids are some of the most unusual carnivorous or insectivorous insects that are commonly kept as pets. They are in the most part from tropical, subtropical and temperate areas of the world like USA, Africa, Indonesia Australia and Southern Europe. Currently there are around 2000 species known but this number is growing as we go deeper in to unchartered areas of the world.
Left: African Mantis Sphodromantis lineola |
Mantis get their common name, Praying Mantis, as a result of their habit of sitting perfectly still with their front two legs folder up as if in prayer - but oh no... they are waiting for dinner!
Mantis are variable insects in sizes ranging from 15mm in length to whopping beasts at around 15+cm in length, their diet consists of insects mostly but the larger species are quite capable of taking small lizards, birds and mice without any difficulties. Typically the life span of a praying mantis is a 'season' from where they originally come from, this is usually between 3 and 9 months although some specimens can live for over 12 months. The average life expectancy of a typical African praying mantis is around 6 months as a freshly molted adult (kept March - November), much less in more specialized mantis from tropical Asia.
| All of the species are closely related to roaches and stick insects so their life cycle is similar.
They don't have a grub or caterpillar stage like beetles or butterflies but instead the juveniles are essentially tiny replicas of their parents, shedding their skins (exoskeletons) several times before reaching adulthood.
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This is the skin (exoskeleton) of Sphodromantis lineola
Every time the insect grows too large for its current skin it must suspend itself from either the tank lid, a branch or similar and over a short period (usually at night) the insect splits down the centre of its back and pushes itself backwards out of the old skin. This is a very dangerous time for the mantis as it is highly vulnerable to attack from other insects, including crickets!
The new skin will darken and become hard in around 3 - 6 hours. |
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Male Mantis have longer bodies than the smaller but fatter females, the male main part of the body or thorax is comprised of 8 easily visible segments whereas the females thorax has only 6. This is useful when breeding Mantis as you can identify the sexes using this guideline.
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Colourful Wings
Most of the species of Mantis have wings but the larger species tend to be a little too heavy for prolonged periods of flight, in any case they mostly fly at night when they are out of sight of most of their predators - except of course bats. Some species can hear the bats approach and will collapse their wings and fall to the ground in an uncontrolled manor, this helps them quickly escape the hunting bats.
Many of the Mantis have become heavily decorated with flanges, spines, spurs and other protuberances which are usually coloured and shaped in a similar way to their natural host plant.
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A good example of this adaptation is the Malaysian Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) which resembles an orchid blossom, similarly the Dead Leaf Mantis (Deroplatys dessicata) looks just like a dry leaf - it's even crumpled!
Left: Orchid Mantis Hymenopus coronatus |
This camouflage serves two purposes. Firstly, it protects the insects from their natural predator as they are difficult to see and secondly, vivid markings are used to warn off potential threats and frighten them away. This is used by the African Eye Flower Mantis.
A great many, but not all, of the Mantis species will be cannibalistic. Upon mating the female will often begin eating the male which still copulating, this it is believed encourages the male to release his spermatophore which contains the fertilising sperm. This process does not interfere with copulation as the males reproductive system is not controlled by the head and the reproductive organs will continue to function normally.
Left: This is the Eye Flower Mantis from Africa |
Housing Mantis
Mantis are quite capable of living in a smallish container but the best size tank or container would measure around 12 inches cubed, this will allow your Mantis room to move around his or her new home. Ideally the container would be something like a mesh tent but these are difficult to keep warm so a small fish tank or plastic tank with a mesh lid is usually used
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The bottom of the tank should have a 2 inch thick coating of peat and sand mix 50/50 ratio or 2 inches of vermiculite which can be misted daily to maintain humidity. Some living plants should also be introduced which can be kept in pots and easily removed once they begin to show signs of neglect.
A small twiggy branch is also an additional bonus for the mantis to perch on and will ensure that you will see them, you can easily make a small 'tree' from some dried branches which can be removed occasionally for cleaning.
Mantis are almost impossible to find when on the right plant, here's a female Sphodromantis centralis - can you see her? |
Watering & Humidity
Most mantis do not actually drink but all will take droplets is sprayed on to either the tank walls or plants in the tank. The spray should leave tiny droplets of water on the surfaces rather than being wet through, only do this every other day unless it's summer time in which case you will need to spray every day in the morning.
Humidity should be kept at around 50% - 60% for most species, up to 90+% for some tropical jungle species. This is easily achieved by misting but also by maintaining the correct moisture content in the substrate. I use vermiculite which is kept constantly damp and adding a few spoons a day to keep it damp especially in warm weather or if you have central heating. This will allow a plume of humidity to rise from the substrate.
If you are using a heat mat then this also allows you to have a humid and warm end and a drier cooler end to the tank. More moisture will evaporate above the heated end of the tank as the substrate will be heated more at this end, less heat at the other end will allow air to be sucked in here to replace the air rising from the warm end. The mantis can then decide which end it wants!
Temperature & Lighting
Temperature will be dependant on their country of origin but as a general rule you should try to maintain a temperature of between 65°F and 80°F throughout the year. A temperature drop at night is acceptable but it should not fall much below 65°F.
| The easiest way of maintaining the temperature is by using an under tank heating mat, this should have a thermostat which should be kept in the tank about half way up.
Right: African Flower Mantis Creobroter meleagris
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Feeding Mantis
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Mantis will eat most insects but anything that stings or bites should not be introduced - there's no point risking your pets. Crickets, waxworms, moths, crickets are good adult food but smaller mantis need smaller food. Greenfly, black fly, fruit flies, house flies etc all make good mantis food for small nymphs. If possible you should vary their diet and not feed the same single food source all the time, this will help them develop fully and provide all the minerals, vitamins and fats for good growth.
The quantity of food eaten will depend on the age of the insect. If it is a small nymph then it will eat several times a day to grow as fast as possible. This means that it will regularly have to shed its skin in order to grow
Left: A batch of Tanzania Mantis emerging from an Ootheca |
You would generally buy mantis as either 'medium', 'large, or 'Sub Adult / Adult'. The medium would eat perhaps 2 medium sized crickets every other day, the large would eat 2 large crickets every third day and the sub adult / adult would eat three large crickets every three days.
You can purchase live food from our other site Global Live Food (UK & EU only)
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Praying Mantis