Rhombodera Kirbyi Giant Timor Shield praying mantis

Rhombodera kirbyi is a species of praying mantises in the family Mantidae, found in Timor, giving it its common name of the Timor Shield Mantis

Rhombodera kirbyi is a large and massive mantid species from Papua. This species is still relatively new to the hobby and is, therefore, very rare to find.

Typical of the genus Rhombodera is the strongly pronounced pronotum, which gives it the name shield mantis.

Large feeding insects - adult Blaptica dubia (Argentine forest cockroach) do not pose a problem for adult females.
R. kirbyi should mainly be fed with flies and cockroaches; other food, such as crickets and grasshoppers, cannot be tolerated in large quantities and can have adverse effects, particularly on the oothecal production of adult females.

Rhombodera kirbyi stands out due to its large appearance and pronounced pronotum. The females are very large at up to 11cm, the males are slightly smaller at around 9cm and significantly slimmer.

The coloring of Rhombodera kirbyi can vary from light yellow to shades of brown. The cover wings of brown animals, in particular, have beautiful grains.

The intraspecific aggressiveness is very pronounced in the Rhombodera genus, which means that keeping them in groups is not an option. Nymphs should be separated from L3/L4 to avoid failures and stress.

Due to its origin, the Papuan shield mantis requires temperatures between 26 and 30° and a relative humidity of 50-75%.

Males can be kept in terrariums measuring 20cm x 20cm x 30cm, for adult females we recommend at least 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.