Taxonomy: | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Sub-Phylum: | Tracheata |
Class: | Insecta |
Sub-Class: | Pterygota |
Super-Order: | Dictyoptera |
Order: | Mantodea |
Family: | Hymenopodidae |
Sub-Family: | Hymenopodinae |
Tribe: | Hymenopodini |
Genus: | Creobroter |
Species: | meleagris |
Year: | 1877 |
Distribution: | Philippines, India. |
This is a really small mantis, but nice looking. Both sexes have a green/brown body with white markings. They have bright green wings that have a slight yellow tint on the side. In the center of the wing, there is a yellow/white eye patch, which has a slight black edging around it. In nature, they pray on nectar seeking insects. They should be kept at 25 -32C (77 - 89.6F) during the day and reduce this during the night to 17C (62.6F). Spray them lightly with water in the evening to keep the humidity at roughly 60%.
Females: get 1 3/8- 1 1/2 inches (3 1/2- 1 3/10cm) long.
Males: get 1 2/8- 1 3/8 inches (3 1/10- 3 1/2cm) long.
Diet: Diurnal insects, Drosophila, houseflies, crickets, flour worms, caterpillars, butterflies, bees. To the newly hatched larvae must be promptly offered Drosophila flies.