Ghost Mantis 101: Husbandry, Set-Up, Care, Sexing
The Ghost Mantis
The Ghost Mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa) is a medium sized mantis species native to Africa and Madagascar. This iconic species is best known for its ease of care, sexual dimorphism, coloration, and leaf-like structured body. Males have taller, thinner ornaments on their heads, and remain smaller than females. Another method to sexing Ghost Mantises is by the number of abdominal segments they have. Females tend to have 8 segments, whereas males have 6. Both sexes develop wings at their imago, or their adult stage. The average lifespan for Ghosts Mantises is approximately 8-12 months. Females tend to live longer than males.
This species can range in color quite well depending on their environment ranging from very dark brown to green. The most popular ones are brown and green. A green Ghost Mantis only occurs in female mantises. The green appearance can be due to genetics, or environment. When given a lighter/greener substrate with moderate humidity, a mantis may become green due to camouflage- blending in with its environment to avoid detection by predators. On the other hand, it could be genetic. The female will be green by a certain instar (as early as I4) and remain so into the remainder of her life. Breeders will sometimes sell Green Ghost Mantises at an increased price, and it is not recommended to purchase them since you don't know what factors caused the mantis to become green. For retail, Ghost Mantises range between $12-20 USD at second/third instar.
Ghost Mantises are also quite a socially tolerant species at young nymph stages! You can safely rear this species' nymphs with its siblings up to the third or fourth instar. An instar is a term used to describe the molt stage the mantis nymph is at. For instance, a newly hatched mantis would be considered first instar, commonly labeled as "I1". Once it molts, it is now in its second instar or "I2". Ghost mantises have a total of 8 instars for both sexes.
How to Care for a Ghost Mantis:
Temperatures: 72-82°F (22–28 °C); any higher or lower could result in stress
Humidity: 50-70%
This can be accomplished through a routine misting schedule plus the provision of sphagnum moss as a substrate
Enclosure: A mantis enclosure should always be three times as tall and two times as wide as your mantis at the minimum.
From first instar to sixth instar, individual mantises can thrive in a properly decorated 32 oz ventilated deli cup. For each mantis, we put a thin layer of sphagnum moss on the bottom and use small branches or strands of aspen excelsior (used in fruit fly cultures) for climbing. We also add white springtails as a live food for small nymphs, and as a clean-up crew for later instars.
7th-8th Instars, despite fitting in a 32 oz deli cup, would do best in a 6"x7" butterfly net. Butterfly net enclosures are very popular with mantises due to their ease of maintenance, visibility, and the amount of climbing space they offer to mantises. Butterfly nets should be misted more often than deli cups, since they have a greater air exchange for ventilation. Enclosure decor fits very well in your butterfly net depending on the one you're using. Spiral nets (the steel wire spirals up) are quite easy for placing horizontal sticks that span the width of the net.
You can also put larger ghost mantises into bioactive terrariums! The material can be either acrylic or glass as long as the mantis has ample space to express natural behaviors.
We recommend the following enclosures for most mantis species below:
2-IN-1 Easy-Assemble Acrylic Habitat
7.8"x7.8"x10.8" Glass Terrarium
Ghost Mantis Feeding:
Feeding your Ghost Mantis may seem as a daunting and challenging task for new mantis keepers, however there is a golden rule of thumb for feeding all mantises: The food should never be longer than 1/3 of the body length of your mantis. If a mantis overeats, it will regurgitate its food. If this happens repeatedly, fast your mantis and do not mist its habitat. Humidity plus additional feedings will exacerbate its health and cause it to perish.
Here is a little guide for what foods to feed Ghost Mantises based on their instar/stage
I1: 3-5x Flightless Fruit Flies (Melanogaster), Springtails
Feed every other day to promote steady growth
I2: 3-5x Flightless Fruit Flies (Melanogaster), Springtails
Feed every other day to promote steady growth
I3-I5: 3-5x Flightless Fruit Flies (Hydei)
Feed every other day to promote steady growth
I6-I8: 1x of either: Small Dubia Roaches, Small Red Runner Roaches, Mealworms
Feed every other day to promote steady growth
When conditioning your mantises to grow, it is important to consider the additional energy to invest in body size, wing development, etc. For conditioning Ghost Mantises for breeding purposes, you can offer food daily from I5-I8 to ensure that females have enough energy for ooth production.
Conclusions:
Thank you for reading our husbandry guide to Ghost Mantises. If you have any questions or concerns about your exotic pet that we specialize in, please contact us at scholarlyexotics@gmail.com.
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