Species: 

Hymenopus coronatus

Common Names: 

Orchid mantis.Distribution:Malaysia, Indonesian and Sumatran rain forest.

Natrual Habitat: 

Heigh humidity regions of the south Asian rain forests.

Captive Housing:

A mantid needs a tall enclosure, three times the length of its body. This is to allow plenty of room for them to shed their skin without touching anything, that could cause them to miss moult. A sure sign you mantid is due to moult is loss of apatite, usually refusing food for a couple of days, a risk of uneaten food knocking the mantis in mid shed is heigh, so take all uneaten food out and leave them quiet until they have shed. Give the newly shed mantis a day to harden up before offering food.Nymphs often start out in Individual half pint pots * housed together they can and will eat eachother*, moving onto pint pots, sweet jars and net enclosure as adult.Remember that most mantids are ambush predators and will sit and wait for their prey rather then chase it down, so may not find adequate food if the enclosure is to large. Most species of mantis will need to be kept separate, the risk of one eating the other is high until adult and ready to reproduce.Most used substrates are ..vermiculite,* careful with vermiculite, the top should be covered with moss or similar. This is to prevent the mantid getting stuck on it* cotton wool and kitchen towel, all hold the moisture for humidity levels essential for successful moulting. Dampen the substrate and spray the mantid once a week, they will drink the droplets of water. Kitchen roll is easier cleaned and less expensive. Frequent changes are needed to stop mold growth and any chance of a mite infestation.Excessive moisture can lead to viral/bacterial problems which can kill your mantid.

Temperature:

80f-90f daytime with a drop at night of around 65f.

Humidity:

Around 70% humidity, these mantids are best kept in hot humid conditions.

Feeding:

Fruitflies (Drosphilia hydei) from 1st instar, increase the size of prey as the mantid grows, Feed flying type foods only! in the form of house flies, green bottles, bluebottles, moths etc.. on the rare occasion they will take locusts and roaches but these should not be used as a regular food source as the mantid matures crawling foods are more than likely to be ignored. NO CRICKETS.I dont recommend feeding crickets.''Crickets more so black crickets Gryllus bimaculatus should be used cautiously when feeding to mantids because of the connection between them and mantids dieing. It is believed that crickets can harbour bacteria in their gut perhaps from dirty food and from being kept in less than hygenic conditions prior to being sold on to the consumer. There is some evidence to suggest that clean home cultured crickets are safer to use. Although other inverts and vertebrates cope with crickets without any problems, it does appear that mantids are susceptable. No crickets should be fed to any of the flower mantid species. They seem to be particularly susceptible .A second problem with all crickets is they can/do feed on a moulting mantid, causing its death.

"Tolerance" Factor: 

Live communal at first instar * new hatch *, at second instar they can and will start to cannibalise, so need splitting into separate pots. As adults females are tolerant to males when they are ready to mate.

Adult size:

Females from 75mmMales - from 30mm

Breeding:

Sexual diamorphism from 4th instar a faint 'necklace' can be seen, green for females and brown for males. Females: 5 abdominal segments.Males: 6 abdominal segments. The male orchids grow at a rapid rate. In order to get the male to mature at the same rate as the female, he must be slowed down. Feeding him less and leaving at a lower temperature.

Mating: 

Female is considered mature and ready to be paired up at around 6 weeks as adult, the male 3 weeks as adult. Feed her up nice and fat then introduce her to the male. The male will hop on and drum on her back before connecting. Drumming will continue for as long as the male chooses to stay with her. This is the only species i have that will stay with the female for up to two weeks, feeding whilst on-board. Once the male dismounts, remove her back to a separate enclosure.

Laying:

Laying a long foamy ootheca. Usually prefers to lay on the underside of plant leaves.

Incubation:

Approx 4-6 weeks (temperature dependent) keep the substrate dampened at all times, incubation temperature around 26c/80f.

Hatching:

Approx 1-100 nymphs1st instars (hatchlings) are orange and white until they dry and then they darken to black and red 'ant like' nymphs.keep them humid and introduce hydei fruit fly on the second day after hatch.