The Ghost Mantis (Phyllocrania Paradoxa) is a stealthy stalker. They make great pets, stealthily hunting prey, camouflaged as dead leaves. Their camouflage conceals them from aerial predators such as birds. Ghost mantises are fairly common among insect keepers. They originate from Madagascar and areas of Africa, thus they are captive bred to relieve the demand on the wild population.
In captivity, the ghost mantis does extremely well, they will tolerate temperatures from 20°C to 30°C, but prefer 25°C. Humidity demands are not extreme as they span 60% to 90%, whereas other tropical mantids usually require at least 70%. At night, conditions may change, but they must be more than 17°C as too low a temperature will slow the mantis’ growth.
Whilst it is not an essential requirement , this mantis’ enclosure should preferably contain dead leaves and sticks to allow the mantis to hide from its prey and feel secure. Substrates are not very important in mantids so, for this mantis, coconut husk may be used with some sphagnum moss to raise the humidity and create a naturalistic environment. However, absorbent materials may be used. Of course, a mesh or other material lid is needed for when the mantid molts.
Feeding is generally easy, but the ghost mantis requires concentration to consume its prey. This insect should feed on only flies – fruit flies for instars 1-5 (sometimes 6) and as adults will prey on larger species of fly and small crickets can be offered. When the ghost mantis recognises prey near it, it will freeze, when the fly walks nearby the camouflaged insect, the ghost mantis will strike… BAM!
You may house ghost mantises together as they do not feed on prey larger than their head, thus cannibalism is incredibly rare. This is one of the only mantis species that does not practice cannibalism often, therefore the death rate in breeding is significantly reduced. Sexing this species is easy as well, males have long antennae, whereas females have shorter antennae.
Both sexes usually grow to the same length, approximately 5 cm. Males are thinner with wings which exceed the abdomen and females’ are larger in width and have shorter wings. The phyllocrania genus contains only three documented species, phyllocrania illudens, phyllocrania insignis and, of course, phyllocrania paradoxa, the most well-known of the three. All of the species look similar, however.