Ghost Mantis (Phyllocrania Paradoxa) Caresheet

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Natural Habitat: The jungles of Madagascar (not hoo-ha, gas-car ), and Asia

Appearance: This exotic mantis is known as a "Cryptic" mantis, due to its demonic looks and extremely effective camoflauge. They are a small species, growing to about 5-7cm in length, but what this species lacks in size is more than made up for in looks. Ranging from almost black to a dark green, they appear to be made from dead leaf material, and move with eerie swaying movements as they position themselves to silently strike their helpless prey, in a manner similar to Ridley Scott's acid-blooded Aliens.

Sexing: Although the regular mantid-sexing method of counting abdomen sections still applies to Ghosts, (8 for male, 6-7 for female) this can be quite hard to do with such a strange-looking species. Other ways of sexing are as follows:

-Colour: Usually the female is a darker colour whereas the male is more of a tan shade. However, this is not a surefire method and should not be used on its own.

-Shield: Most females have a noticeably large shield on the thorax ("neck")

-Flight: Males (at adulthood) can be seen flying at night, whereas the females rarely do so.

-Antenna: Males have (at adulthood) much more noticeable and longer antennae than the female.

Housing: This mantis should be housed in a container with a width double the length of the insect, and a height of triple its length. However, if you are keeping more than one mantis in one enclosure (which is perfectly safe with good amounts of food available), be sure to increase the container size. Decorate the container with fake plants and twigs, but do not fill the container with such things, as they will get in the way during shedding.
A kitchen towell substrate is recommended for practical reasons, but in a naturalistic habitat an Eco Earth substrate is suitable.

Heating and Lighting: Mantids do not really require any special lighting other than normal sunlight, so be sure to place them in a part of the room where sunlight is available but not on a windowsill. Heating is slightly more important, placing the enclosure on a heat mat should ensure the right amounts of temperature during winter months, but leave them in room temperature as summer approaches.
It is believed that temperature and humidity can change the colour of your mantis, but bear in mind that extremes in temperature can kill the mantis.

Shedding: Ghost Mantids shed regularly as young nymphs, but these sheds decrease in frequency as the mantis grows older. At the final shed the mantis will grow wings, but these will not be evident until it has dried out.
It is important not to touch a mantis during shedding, as this could disturb them, leaving you with a crippled or dead animal instead of a healthy, bigger one.
A few days before a shed the mantis will ignore food, and this is nothing to worry about. Soon after the shed their appetite will return. When you notice this lack of appetite, be sure to mist the enclosure, to aid shedding.

Feeding: A diet of live crickets, flies and the occasional mealworm is all that is needed. The diet could also be just crickets or just flies, but just mealworms is not recommended.
Ghost mantids will also happily slurp up a droplet of honey from a cocktail stick (this should not be done often; only as a treat).
A water dish is not required, mantids get plenty of liquids from their food. They do however occasionally drink water droplets from the plastic or glass of their enclosure after a misting.

Summary: Not really a beginners mantis, experience with one or two easier species is needed. The ghost mantis is however one of the best available additions to anyone's mantis collection; it is attractive, deadly, and entertaining.




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