Phyllocrania paradoxa
These mantis can be found widely across Africa and in parts of South Europe.
Ghost mantis prefer in live in dry areas, in trees, shrubs, and bushes.
They can be kept at room temperature and will tolerate temperature from 65-85°, but prefer to be between 72-80°. With humidity between 40% and 70% this can be achieved by misting the cage 1-2 times a day when nymphs but, once they have had a few molts you can back the amount of times you mist to 2-3 a week.
The enclosure should be at least three times the length of the animal and three times as tall.
It should be well ventilated and have areas for the mantis to climb as they are arboreal.
Ghost mantis are uncharacteristically not cannibalistic and can be kept community groups.
These mantis are sexually dimorphic, so the female is larger than the males.
After the 3rd instar molt you should be able to sex your mantis by the number of abdominal segments.
Males have a shorter more narrow abdomen with eight segments, females will have a longer, wider abdomen with six segments.
At the 5th instar the males will have smaller appendages and be thinner overall. Where the female will have larger appendages and be more compact.
At the 6th instar the males will show transparent wings that are longer than the abodomin, have thicker antenna, and are visibly thinner than the females.
In the 6th instar and above the crown of the males and females differ greatly. With the females crown being as wide as their head, straighter and more smooth.
Both the male and the female molt seven times.
The males may take longer to reach maturity that the females.
The average life span for this species is 5½ months but sometimes can be convinced to go longer.
What to feed these mantis depends on their size. As newly hatched nymphs you should fed fruit flies after their fist molt you may feed them hydei flies. As the size increases you may feed them house flies (cultured), and green bottle flies(cultured). This species of mantis prefers to eat flying insects but you may be able to target feed them and sometimes they will even take wax worms from a pair of feeding tongs or tweezers.
Don’t be surprised if your male ghost mantis wont eat in his adult life. They will still be active and fly readily. If you keep the females well fed they will rarely attack the males.
To breed you will want to put male in a large (80oz) cup and keep him humid and warm for 2 days before putting in the female.
You will find them connected soon after and this can last for 2-8 hours. You should take care to make sure the female is not too warm so that she lays longer oothecae every 1-2 weeks instead of smaller ones every few days. Each female can lay up to 12 ooths in their lifetime.
You can incubate the oothecae at room temperature misting 2 times a week for 6-10 weeks with the average hatching being between 20-60 nymphs
