South American Green Mantis (Oxyopsis gracilis)

South American Green Mantis Oxyopsis gracilis
Name	South American Green Mantis
Name Lat.	Oxyopsis gracilis
Family	Mantids
Family lat.	Mantidae
Order	Praying Mantids
Order lat.	Mantodea
Origin	South America
Habitat	Rainforest
Diet	Flying insects
Humidity	60-80 %
Behavior	Predatory
Keeping	Individual
Care Level	Moderate
Housing	Semi humid terrarium
Breeding	Moderately difficult
Life Span	2-6 months
Protection	No
Metric Units
Size	3-5 cm
Temperature Day	25-30 °C
Temperature Night	20-23 °C
Housing Size	20 x 20 x 30 cm
US Units
Size	1.2"-2"
Temperature Day	77-86 °F
Temperature Night	68-73 °F
Housing Size	10" x 10" x 10"

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area of the Green Mantis is in Bolivia and Paraguay in South America. There they inhabit the tropical rainforests, where they live well camouflaged in the branches of trees and shrubs

Maintenance

For a female an insectarium of at least 20 x 20 x 30 cm (L x W x H), for a group of up to 5 males 30 x 30 x 50 cm, can be recommended as a guideline, which should be placed in a quiet place without direct sunlight. A cover of gauze or fine metal mesh is recommended

You need an insectarium structured with sufficient climbing branches and pieces of bark (hiding places, privacy screen) with a cork back wall, a substrate of sand-earth mixture (terrarium humus), which should always be kept slightly moist, and a small, shallow drinking vessel with water gel or a absorbent cotton drinker. Artificial or live plants are suitable for decoration

The insectarium should be lightly sprayed with water daily, preferably in the evening. Waterlogging should be avoided.

Temp. day: 25-30 °C

Temp. night: 20-23 °C

Humidity: 60-80

The lighting duration should be 12 hrs. Light sources that also produce the necessary heat are ideal.

Diet

They are predatory and seize even larger prey, preferably flying insects, at lightning speed with their long tentacles. The food supply should consist of crickets, house crickets, flies (Drosophila, house flies) and grasshoppers, small butterflies, but also moths, etc. It is important to regularly add minerals and vitamins (e.g. by dusting the feeders). The quality of the feeders can be enhanced by feeding overripe fruit and honey water. A few days before, during and after molting, they refuse to eat. During molting, no predatory feeders (e.g. crickets) should remain in the insectarium, as during this time the animals are unprotected and may become prey themselves

A varied diet promotes health and prevents deficiency symptoms.

Reproduction and breeding

Adult females are much larger than the slimmer males. Males have  transparent wings and long antennae, females have green wings and short antennae.

After mating, the female lays up to 10 egg packages (oothecae). At a temperature of about 28 °C, 30-60 nymphs hatch after about 4-5 weeks. They should be fed immediately with small fruit flies or microhermits, so that they do not eat each other (cannibalism).

After imaginal molting, the animals are ready to mate after about 2 weeks. After that the females live up to 6 months, the males about 2-3 months.

Important

Prior to mating, a large food animal should be offered to the female to reduce the risk of her eating the male. It is recommended to keep females singly.

They have very good camouflage (mimesis) due to their body shape and coloration and their often prolonged immobility

Before purchasing, an insectarium should be prepared that meets the species specific needs. Good ventilation without drafts is necessary, as well as equipment for measuring temperature and humidity. The lighting should correspond to the species-specific day-night rhythm and should be placed in such a way that the animals cannot injure themselves. The insectarium should be locked in such a way that neither unauthorized persons can open it nor the animals can escape. Special attention must be paid to thorough hygiene and contamination must be removed regularly.

Further literature can be found in your pet store.

References

Text: petdata; Image: Franz Lowak

Source: ENGELMAN & LANGE (2011): Zootierhaltung - Tiere in menschlicher Obhut: Wirbellose, Verlag Harri Deutsch; HENKEL & SCHMIDT (2010): Taschenatlas Wirbellose für das Terrarium, Verlag Ulmer