Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantis care
(Pseudoharpax virescens)
Adult female.
Gambian Spotted-Eye Flower Mantii are very easy to keep.
Size: Females are 28mm long and the males are 25mm long. L1 nymphs are almost 4mm long (not a very good measurement because there abdomens are curled up).
Temperature: This is what other sites said the temperature should be, 60 degrees to 85 degrees. If you keep them cooler at night, the mantis will live longer. I have kept them in the summer 98 degrees, and over 100 degrees. Most of the time I kept them at about 98 degrees during this past summer, and they did fine. If you keep them warmer, they grow faster from a nymph to an adult, and die earlier. If you keep them cooler they will grow more slowly and live longer.
That does not mean you can put them in the hot sun. If you do, it will kill them. I left some for two hours in a closed car this summer and most of them died. I was inside a retirement village visiting my Grandmother. I was lucky that some survived. I don't know exactly how cold or how hot oothecae should be. I think they should be kept at 68 degrees to 90 degrees. Oothecae can probably go lower than 68, and I think oothecae can go higher than 90 degrees.
Humidity: Some places say to keep them at 50%-80%. Just mist them every 2 to 5 days. Mist oothecae about every 3 days.
Breeding: They breed very fast, grow quickly and die early compared to most mantises. Males have long, thick and red antenna, females have short and thin antenna. Male and female Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantises mature at about the same time. Most mantises live about 8 months as adults. Some sites say that Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantises live only about 4 months. If you keep them warmer, they grow faster from a nymph to an adult, and die earlier. If you keep them cooler, they will grow more slowly and live longer. They stop growing when they become adults. Males have 8 segments while females have 6 segments.
Size: Females are 28mm long and the males are 25mm long. L1 nymphs are almost 4mm long (not a very good measurement because there abdomens are curled up).
Temperature: This is what other sites said the temperature should be, 60 degrees to 85 degrees. If you keep them cooler at night, the mantis will live longer. I have kept them in the summer 98 degrees, and over 100 degrees. Most of the time I kept them at about 98 degrees during this past summer, and they did fine. If you keep them warmer, they grow faster from a nymph to an adult, and die earlier. If you keep them cooler they will grow more slowly and live longer.
That does not mean you can put them in the hot sun. If you do, it will kill them. I left some for two hours in a closed car this summer and most of them died. I was inside a retirement village visiting my Grandmother. I was lucky that some survived. I don't know exactly how cold or how hot oothecae should be. I think they should be kept at 68 degrees to 90 degrees. Oothecae can probably go lower than 68, and I think oothecae can go higher than 90 degrees.
Humidity: Some places say to keep them at 50%-80%. Just mist them every 2 to 5 days. Mist oothecae about every 3 days.
Breeding: They breed very fast, grow quickly and die early compared to most mantises. Males have long, thick and red antenna, females have short and thin antenna. Male and female Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantises mature at about the same time. Most mantises live about 8 months as adults. Some sites say that Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantises live only about 4 months. If you keep them warmer, they grow faster from a nymph to an adult, and die earlier. If you keep them cooler, they will grow more slowly and live longer. They stop growing when they become adults. Males have 8 segments while females have 6 segments.
Cage: I have read that you need a cage that is at least 3 times the height of the mantis, a heuristic which holds true for any mantis. Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantises do not seem to be prone to molting problems. But you should still mist them to be sure they will not incur any molting problems. I put plastic plants for my bigger Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantises. I do not put plastic plants in containers that have L1 to L6 nymphs, because the younger mantids stay on the plastic plants and that would be the only reason for the plastic plants. The fruit flies they eat do not usually go on the plastic plants. I stick tissue with paper glue on the sides of my containers for the nymphs to hold on.
Personality: Pseudoharpax virescens are semi-communal. If they are not fed a lot, they will eat each other. They are very fast and skittish when they are young nymphs L1-L2, but when they get older they are rather calm. They sway sideways in the wind or when you blow on them. They can live together in the same container if fed a lot. If they are stuffed, they do fine together and will not eat each other. They are aggressive predators (go after large prey and do not give up). Adult females will tackle prey as large as themselves.
Food: All the websites I saw said L1 nymphs will eat Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies. It is not good to feed them ants. The adults eat almost anything. grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, crickets and flies.
Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantii eyes change color at night! In the morning the eyes are light green, at night they are red.
Personality: Pseudoharpax virescens are semi-communal. If they are not fed a lot, they will eat each other. They are very fast and skittish when they are young nymphs L1-L2, but when they get older they are rather calm. They sway sideways in the wind or when you blow on them. They can live together in the same container if fed a lot. If they are stuffed, they do fine together and will not eat each other. They are aggressive predators (go after large prey and do not give up). Adult females will tackle prey as large as themselves.
Food: All the websites I saw said L1 nymphs will eat Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies. It is not good to feed them ants. The adults eat almost anything. grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, crickets and flies.
Gambian Spotted Eye Flower Mantii eyes change color at night! In the morning the eyes are light green, at night they are red.