Hey yeah I'm still here lol. What instar is your D. lobata? What are you feeding it? If the size of its prey is not that big, then it's probably nearing a molt.

I haven't come up with any caresheets yet but anyone needing assistance can just PM me.

Informed it is at its 3rd...mealworm, superworm (mid size), grasshoppers
have u tried cricket for ur mantis..is it really that cricket can kill ....
ermmm due to bacteria or sumthin.....

Whats insect the best for it?

I feed crickets to almost all my mantids all of the time. There's an opinion going around about crickets causing mantids to become sick and eventually die. Many people have found this to be untrue. Just to be safe, never feed your mantids crickets just purchased from the shop. Always gut-load them first. I gut-load and take care of my crickets and make sure they're healthy before I feed them to my mantids. You can gut-load the crickets with bok choy, cat food, dog food, etc. If the enclosure your crickets are kept in is not well-kept, chances are you'll have unhealthy and stressed crickets.

Try putting in a cricket that's just a couple sizes smaller than your D. lobata and watch it become 'alive'. Mantids become extremely active and aggressive when faced with a insects that they're specialized to prey on. D. lobata can usually be found in shrubs, bushes and even on the forest floor. In the wild, they'd most probably prey on a lot of forest floor-dwelling insects such as crickets. Give it a try but make sure you gut-load the cricket first. It's good practice to always gut-load your feeder insects to maintain their health.

thanks bro for info.....done that d

hi all, I been so busy with stuff that i totally miss this place.

Congrats to mantismania for the new thread. FINALLY someone who is very passionate about these wonderful creatures. Nice to meet you.

Some reposting on MTS forum

My current Favourite

Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantis
Deroplatys lobata
Pride of Mantis keepers in Malaysia (aside from the orchid mantis)
Envy of the world.

Hard to spot out in the rainforest, Malaysian Dead Leaf Mantids hold true to their name.
The entire body looks like a zombie leaf walking.
But hid under the shady brown colour lies a wonderful blend of purple, black, amber and red. That's when your mantis gets ready to fly off. Though they seldom do.

They are ambushers, not hunters and can wait patiently for their prey for days, provided they are give water everyday.
While they are quite docile and non-venomous but they do scratch you if you keep pestering them. Their threat display rivals that of a tarantula

With their hood-like appearance, they look like fallen Jedi ready to use their lightsabers, but evil they are not. That title goes to another mantis.

Range Malaysian rainforests.
Type Arboreal.
Full Grown Size Females get up to 5.5 inches. .
Temperament Docile and calm. Loves to climb and cling onto your arm.
Speed Slow
Additional comments: LIKES observing. HIGHLY curious. If you are not looking, don't worry. It's looking at you.

Bro good info there....BTW is that ur D lobata enclosure? how is it in that as i used high container for it less the foliage...using only paper towel for dampness

Good description. Did the female die a few days or weeks after you took the photo? She looks stressed with the wings like that.

Anyway, we recently mated our Deroplatys truncata. Here are some photos:

Just noob q ere

what's that no represent i.e 1.0.0, 2.2.0 as all insect keeper have that

Lets say 1.2.3
The 1st number indicate male, 2nd indicate female and 3rd is unsex or sling/baby

Anw mantismania (Any other name that we can use to refer u?)
Which pic u referring? Would like to learn how to see if they are stress or not

Look at the photos with her wings half opened. They'd usually do that if they're stressed/too hot.

Thanks ryo

just 2 understand .. 1.2.3.. means i got 1 male 2 female and 3 unsex/sling... altogether 6

ah... she was like that when she arrived from the post. I suppose the ligaments was damaged. I had two females

Where did you get them from? It helps to know the stock they came from.

Hmmm~ just wonder here, does any Mantis that is Terrestrial and quite big 1? @@ and whats is the basic care for them? Can any1 teach me? i quite interest on Mantis. haha

Hey Harry, there are still many undiscovered species out there but right now what I can think of is Deroplatys sp.. They're both arboreal and terrestrial and they're quite big. Keeping mantids is easy. Basic care is just feed them, mist them once in a while and if they're nymphs, give them space to molt.

OMG i thought i was the only one catching this type of insect (back when i was a kid) and feeding them with live insects from my garden. awesome thread.

nice thread, i want to keep mantis quite long already, same as your point, i like to see how they prey on food.
but then i dunno how to catch one and where to catch one. and last time i just used to see those green colour mantis, which come to your house everytime after raining. but then now hardly to see one.
is it all those tank is your mantis enclosure? you keep a lot? any of it plan to given away?


this one is a nice one, but then i just saw them in natianal geographic channel only.


where you get this baby? i hardly seen it in malaysia.


woah, i didnt know that male and female got such a big different in mantis.

This post has been edited by zoejehuty: Jan 10 2010, 03:03 AM

Wow... They're like TRANSFORMERS in disguise~~

Hi Guys

What r the three difference between this D.desiccata, D. lobata & D.truncata as all of them r the dead leaf mantis rite?

I assume they are all the same genus but different species?