Week 1-4

I have just received the Mantis, it is female and about 2-3cm long. It was very thirsty on arrival, it drank from a water drop I placed next to it. It also looked quite hungry (quite slim) so I offered it a small Wax Moth Larva which it ate (drained) in about 5 minutes. I found a skin inside the transport box that the Mantis arrived in so it must have shed its skin inside the box on the way. I have noticed that this species has a defense that was unseen in Hierodula Membranacea, when disturbed the Hymenopus Coronatus will lower its body, flatten its limbs out and lower its head. When it does this it makes the Mantis look just like a flower, a great camouflage technique when the Mantis is on an Orchid.

Week 5-8

The Mantis has shed its skin twice since the last log doubling its size. It now measures around 4-5cm. Its budded wings can be seen on its Mesothorax and Metathorax indicating that the next Ecdysis could be the final one. I have changed the Mantid’s location in my room and placed it next to my lovely pink wash basin and not surprisingly within two days the Mantis has turned the same incredible pink! I have been feeding it on a combination of House Crickets, Moths and Flies and it seems to be doing very well. One of the Crickets was much larger than the Mantis so instead of tackling it, the Mantis put on the most amazing threat display raising itself up and moving its spikey front arms back and forth in grappling motions.

Week 9-24

The Mantis has shed its skin only once in the last 14 or so weeks, its wing buds are very apparant now. I was expecting the moult to be its final one but it has been supprisingly slow at growing.
The Mantis is now 6 months old and will hopefully soon moult into an adult. Appearance wise it has not changed very much, it has gained size of around 10% currently measuring about 5cm. I have fed it on a diet consisting mostly of field crickets with a few flies. The cage humidity is always around 70% and the temperature around 23 degrees Centigrade. The mantis seems to be doing very well. I have hand watered it using a soaked cotton bud every now and then as well as misting the cage daily.

Week 25-34

The Mantis finally shed its skin in the 25th week! Unfortunatley there were complications during the moulting process, the mantis although alive and well had disfigured wings. For the next few weeks it was fed on a normal diet of crickets and flies. Unfortunately (again) it only had a life span of about 8 weeks after the final moult. This was unexpected, as the Male Hierodula Membranacea lived considerably longer as an adult. The cause of death in Hymenopus Coronatus is undetermined, either natural causes or maybe something resulting from the bad moult. I did not have the chance to photgraph the Mantis in its adult state as it had simply crawled under a leaf and died one morning. R.I.P.