Species: 

Phyllocrania paradoxa

Common Names: 

Ghost Mantis, African Dead Leaf Mantis

Distribution:

Central and South Africa.Natrual

Habitat: 

Dry Forest.

Captive Housing:

General rule of 3 x the length of the mantid for height and 2 x the length for width, small nymphs (1st - 3rd instar) do well in 1/2 pint plastic cups with mesh/netting top, moving onto pint cups, sweet jars or other similar sized containers as it grows, ensure container has adequate ventilation, Net type cages are the most ideal.Furnish the base of the container with a moisture retaining substrate such as Vermiculite, peat/vermiculite mix or best yet ordinary kitchen roll. A single twig placed diagonally is the furnishing your mantid will need to get from the bottom of the container to the top, if you have more room fake/live plants can be added but the general is not to overcrowd the container with furnishings as they can impede moulting and cause more harm than good in the way of the mantid being caught by the funishings while moulting. In most cases the mantid will spend most of its time at the highest point of the enclousure (the roof) from which it will moult hence the importance of a mesh/net top to aid the mantid in getting a good foothold.It's best not to keep the mantid in too large a container as these are ambush predators and will generally wait for the food to come to them, large enclousures will decrease the frequency of predator coming into contact with the prey.

Temperature: 

22-30 deg C daytime. A night time drop of a few degrees is considered beneficial for the mantid. The warmer the mantid is kept the higher its metabolism, this coupled with increased feeding will cause the mantid to grow quicker than at a cooler temperature with less feeding. Humidity: Around 60% humidity, ensure substrate is slightly damp at all times, mist when needed generally every/everyother day depending on temperature, higher temperature = more frequent mistings.Do not over do it with the humidity, as over humid environments can give rise to increased fungal and bactrial condition, always ensure they have adequate ventilition coupled with the humidity. If being kept in Nets more regular misting will be needed.Feeding: Fruitflies (Drosphilia hydei) from 1st instar, increase the size of prey as the mantid grows, these do best with a flying food diet, greenbottles, houseflies, blue bottles, moths etc... but will and can be raised on suitably sized crawling prey, the only difficulty that you can have is the crawling prey coming into contact with the mantid as they are not not very active and will remain in the same place for a number of days. 

Moulting:

Mantids grow by Shedding (ecdysis) their skin, a newly hatched nymph is known as 1st instar and after each subsquent moult moves up an instar. Signs of an imminent moult are a period of in activity, fasting, adopting a moulting postion and in sub-adult nymphs the swelling of the wingbuds, normally one or all of these signs will be noticed but they can at times take us by surprise.Ensure any uneaten food is removed especially Locust, Crickets and Roaches as the mantid can be vunerable when nearing, during and after a moult, either by knocking the mantid midmoult or the mantid becoming the prey itself.

"Tolerance" Factor: 

These are probably the species most tolerant towards each other, many people believe them to be truly "communal" however no mantid species is truly communal as there is always the risk of cannablism, adult females can be particularly cannabalistic. It is not recommended to keep this species communally if you only have a small number of nymphs.

Adult Size:

Females 45-55mmMales 40-55mm

Breeding:

Sexual Dimorphism: can be easily sexed from 3rd instar onwards!Females: 6 abdominal segments. "Head Crown" is broad with one kink Males: 7 abdominal segments. "Head Crown" is thin with two kinks. Adult Females: Larger and bulkier than males, wing tips before tip of abdomen.Adult Males: Slender, wing tips extend just past tip of abdomen. Longer antennae.Mating: Sexual maturity generally 3-5 weeks after reaching adulthood, they can be mated earlier but the chances of unsuccessful matings and the female attacking the male are significantly increased.Although these can be kept together as adults females do tend to be cannabalistic especially towards males.Laying: Females will in most cases start to lay their 1st ootheca after 5 weeks of being adult, with intervals of about 1 week for each subsequent ooth dependant on frequency of feeding and temperature.10+ ootheca can be laid during the females adult lifetime. Furnish the enclosure with thin twigs as these are the preferred laying site.