Praying mantis care sheet

[macro junkie]

GIANT ASIAN MANTIS

Hierodula membranacea/Grandis - One of the largest mantis in the world, reaching 4 to 5 inches long! Colors range from green to brown. The Asian mantis is an ambusher, waiting for its food to come within reach, but will also stalk its prey at times.

Food - The prey must have movement to trigger the feeding so crickets, flies, moths, and butterflies, are good food sources.

Water - Every few days mist the moisture- holding substrata.

Housing - Temperature should be about 75 degrees.All tho you can get away with 70f. Moisture-holding substrata will help keep the humidity at about 55% which will be needed for molting. A screen top for air also serves as the mantis’ favorite resting place. For molting, container height should be 2 to 3 times the length of the mantis for room to “crawl out of their skin.” This mantis is cannibalistic, so only one per container.

Difficulty - This is one of the easiest mantis to care for, a great beginners mantis.

[daz30347]

Orchid Mantis

Hymenopus Coronatus

Food - The prey must have movement to trigger the feeding so crickets, flies, moths, and butterflies, are good food sources.

Water - Every few days mist the moisture- holding substrata.

Housing - Temperature should be about 15-18c for males so they do not grow too fast as they natrually grow a lot faster than females,whilst females should be kept at about 30c-35c so they can grow quickly to reach maturity. Moisture-holding substrata like soil,peat,or simply a moist(not too wet as this will cause mold to develop)kitchen towel will help keep the humidity at about 55% which will be needed for molting. A screen top for air also serves as the mantis’ favorite resting place. For molting, container height should be 2 to 3 times the length of the mantis for room to “crawl out of their skin.” This mantis is cannibalistic, so only one per container.

Difficulty - More difficult than there Asian cousins, but not overly difficult.

[joeyboy]

great general guide shep!

The only thing i'd suggest you amend is the humidity levels. Most species, especially the ones a beginner would get( african, not flower, giant asian), don't need 85% humidity, in fact it would probably be bad for them.

For example my giant asian needs around 55-60% humidity although if this drops to 50% it doesn't really matter, their pretty hardy and too low humidity is generally better then too high.

[Nacnud112]

You say the food needs movement to trigger the mantis. Could I manually move dead food and dried food- would this be okay?

[macro junkie]

Originally Posted by Nacnud112

You say the food needs movement to trigger the mantis. Could I manually move dead food and dried food- would this be okay?

1.why do you want to feed it dead food..what are you going to do..kill the cricket 1st before feeding it?then spend 10 mins moving the cricket until the mantis grabs it..alot of hassle if u ask me

2.If you feed it dryed food the mantis isnt going to be healthy..how would u feal if all you could eat was dryed food?lol.they get most of there moisture from the live insects they eat.

[macro junkie]

for more info go to this blog - Praying Mantis

[matt020593]

Originally Posted by joeyboy

great general guide shep!

The only thing i'd suggest you amend is the humidity levels. Most species, especially the ones a beginner would get( african, not flower, giant asian), don't need 85% humidity, in fact it would probably be bad for them.

For example my giant asian needs around 55-60% humidity although if this drops to 50% it doesn't really matter, their pretty hardy and too low humidity is generally better then too high.

I agree with this. Mantids do not need 85% humidity. 50/60% is fine for most species.

[macro junkie]

did u read the blog i linked?i found that last week..some good info on there

[*mogwai*]

great thread. i bought my first mantis yesterday. he's so cool, i've wanted one for a while now & he's so good looking. he still doesn't have a name yet though.

i fed him a chricket this morning but he still hasn't eaten it (well as off about an hour ago) so i was wondering how long should i keep it in there?

[macro junkie]

Originally Posted by teshu

great thread. i bought my first mantis yesterday. he's so cool, i've wanted one for a while now & he's so good looking. he still doesn't have a name yet though.

i fed him a chricket this morning but he still hasn't eaten it (well as off about an hour ago) so i was wondering how long should i keep it in there?

how big is the cricket?if its not going for the food its either

1.The prey is to big
2.its about to shed
3.or its just shed

they stop eating before and after shedding...got any pics?