ConeHead Mantis
Empusa pennata or the ConeHead Mantis is a beautiful species with a rich green wings and long slender thorax. They are native to the Mediterranean Regions such as Portugal and Spain and over into parts of Italy. A fairly difficult species to keep, they are not recommended for beginners.
Conehead Mantis
Housing:
Mantids don’t require much space but the cage or container needs to be able to accommodate them as they grow. Generally the container must be 3x the mantis length and 2x for the width. It must be well ventilated to prevent the growth of mold
This species has very long legs need more space than expected to grow.
Temperature:
They prefer temps from 75-95 F but can go lower at night.
Humidity:
These Mantids prefer from 40-60%.
Water:
Mantids do not require standing water to drink and receive most of their moisture from their food. They will however drink water drops from misting. Good ventilation is required to prevent mold growth from higher humidity
Feeding:
Flying insects are the preferred source of food. As nymphs fruit flies are the ideal food source and increase to house flies and blue/green bottle flies as they get larger. They also will enjoy moths or other harmless flying insects. It’s recommended that the size of the feeder insect does not exceed 1/2 the mantis length. Most pet stores sell fruit flies and wax worms that can be grown into moths. Larger flies can found easily from online suppliers or sometimes from bait shops.