Hierodula membranacea

Order: Mantodea

Family: Mantidae

Subfamily: Mantinae

Genus: Hierodula

Species: Hierodula membranacea, Burmeister, 1838

Hierodula membranacea (common name: Giant Asian Mantis) is one of the bigger mantis species, they can reach more than 10 cm in length. Males tend to stay 1 - 2 cm smaller in size. The coloration of this Asian mantis varies a lot and seems to be adjustable to the environment. After every shed the mantis can practically change its coloration. From pinkish-white, yellow, brown to green everything is possible. It isn't fixed in the genes, since every colored mantis can give offspring to every possible color. During night this mantis gets darker eyes.

H. membranacea is a day active insect, which prefers to sit upside down on the highest elevation possible, to wait for possible prey to come by. Every moving object will be noticed by this insects highly complex eyes and followed with head movements.

When threatened this mantis first tries to hide or escape. It is a good jumper and flyer (when adult) and uses these abilities to escape from a possible danger. When there is no way to escape this mantis starts to threaten. For this the front body will be positioned vertically with the claws folded together laid to the body. The wings can be spread open, to make the insect look bigger. If the attacker doesn't get intimidated, H. membranacea starts to hit the opponent with the claws or bites. Since this species is not so small, bites can rather hurt. Nonetheless this species is more relaxed than aggressive.

This tropical species has a wide distribution in Asia. It is found in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South China, Thailand and Java. There it prefers forests where it can camouflage perfect. Since this species has such a wide distribution, it is no specialist and can take a big spann of temperature and humidity quite well. It prefers habitats with an temperature around 20 - 28 °C, which can be found in most tropical rainforests in Asia.

Hierodula membranacea is an excellent and successful hunter. Its diet is strictly carnivorous and consists mainly of flying insects. Practically every moving animal in reachable distance, small enough to hold, is potential food for this species. This species is big enough to also catch small frogs, lizards, rodents and even birds, even though that's not its main diet.

When a prey is near a mantis, it will be quickly noticed and followed with the mantids big eyes. With slow movements, which sometimes imitate the moving branches in the wind, the mantis positions itself in target range. The claws then expand really fast to catch the prey. With several thorns on the arms, the prey gets fixed. The mantis then proceeds to eat quickly legs and/or wings away. In the case of catching potential dangerous insects, like hornets, the prey is quickly decapitated and the stinger is hold far away from the body. Even though mantids eat almost every moving animal, they seem to do easier with keratinous insects, rather than soft ones, like caterpillars. After an animal is eaten up with its strong mandibles, the mantis proceeds to clean her claws, mandibles and feelers, to be ready for the next prey.

In captivity the food should be chosen by the size of the mantis. When mantids hatch, they are not able to eat to big prey and mostly flee from it. A good starter food are fruit fly (Drosophilidae) since, they are a soft food, which is attracted by light, where the mantis waits for its prey. There is breeds that don't fly which make feeding the mantis even easier. The bigger the mantis gets the bigger the food can be. After fruit flies, normal flies, locust or cricket babies can be fed. After a certain size, we prefer to feed them mealworms, since we have them always in every size available. It should only be taken care, that mantids are never close to shedding, when feeder animals are in their enclosure. When mantids shed, they can't defend itself and can be eaten by mealworms or crickets.

Once  a mantis is adult, we prefer to feed them with adult locusts. It is said that crickets can be host of a lot of parasites, which can kill mantids. Also fertility drops if crickets are fed to pregnant females. Therefore we never feed crickets.

Mantids also have to drink. Even if the main water is taken in with its food, mantids drink droplets of water on surfaces of leaves, moss or (in captivity) glass.

Also the enclosure should be chosen by size. Mantids are strictly to be kept alone, since they are cannibalistic. After a mantis hatches it's easier to keep them in small, transparent plastic boxes, with fly screen in cutouts of the lid, to allow air circulation. A little leaf or branch to sit on is enough structure. The enclosures should always be chosen big enough that the mantis has enough space to molt. The animals search the highest point for molting and hang then upside down. For shedding they need a little bit more than double the length of the animal itself. Is that space not given, the mantis can fall down the branch or touch the ground of the box, and molts in a bad way. This can result in deformities or the animal getting stuck in its skin, where it then dies.

For adult and sub adult mantids a terrarium with 20 x 20 x 30 cm or bigger is enough. Again it should be taken care, not to put to much decoration and branches in it, to allow the mantis to shed properly.

To keep the moisture up, water should be sprayed every now and then with a spray bottle. Little plants or moss, help to keep up the humidity. An air humidity of 40 - 50 % should be kept.

As a source of warmth a small lamp can be added above the terrarium. This also allows plants to survive and sets a day cycle for the mantis. Since mantids are day active animals, they orientate on light, which is therefore necessary for them. A temperature of 20 - 28 °C can be also reached with a radiator in the room.

If the parameters can be applied, this species can also be kept free in the room in a sunny place on a plant, since this species prefers to stay on the same spot, as long as it catches enough food.

Sexing Hierodula membranacea is able after around 4 sheds. The abdomen of mantids are segmented. The last segment includes the reproductive organs of H. membranacea. The last segment of the abdomen is separated in two thinner parts with males and is one bigger segment with females. Females have therefore 6 segments and males 8 segments on the abdomen. This can only be seen from underneath. The bigger the mantis gets, the easier it is to see.

With the final shed after 5 months, where male (6 sheds) and female (7 sheds) become adult, the sexes can be differentiated easier. Males are thinner and longer than females and show longer wings. Females grow heavier and have a more robust abdomen than males.  Males tend to have a shorter live span with around 9 months. Females live up to around 12 months.

Hierodula membranacea is adult after around 5 months. Males tend to be a bit earlier adult since they need one shed less to reach adulthood.

1 - 2 weeks after adult shed, mantids start to search for partners. The males fly around to search for females. With contracting, pumping movements, the female sets pheromones free, which attracts searching males.

Once a male approaches the female, it jumps quickly on the females back and connects its reproductive organs with the females. The mating process can take several hours. In most cases, the female starts to eat the male during this process, starting with the head. Even without the rest of the body, the abdomen of the male, continues fertilizing the female. In some cases males also escape after copulation and can fertilize other females. The male serves as first protein source to develop the eggs in the body.

After some weeks the female starts to build its first ootheca, which is sticked to a substrate like a branch or a stone. It consists of a foamy glue, mixed with the long eggs of the female. After it is laid, it hardens and is then a consistency like paper. Oothecas of this species are round, beige-brown and reach sizes of 4 - 5 cm. Female H. membranacea can lay several oothecas with one fertilization. Up to 3 - 4 oothecas are the norm.  Female mantids which didn't mate also lay oothecas, but the eggs in it are not fertilized.

When incubated between 25 - 30 °C, the babies hatch after around 5 - 6 weeks. All babies hatch at the same time with snake-like movements through the layers of the ootheca. While coming trough the surface layer, the mantids shed for the first time. Hundreds of little mantis skins attached on little strings can be seen, hanging from a hatched ootheca. 80 - 200 mantids per ootheca spread quickly away from the it, mostly towards sunlight. Till the third skin baby mantids tend to not eat each other. With low food source, cannibalism grows quickly.

When kept in captivity, the mantids should be separated, to have no losses. Every few weeks the mantids shed until they reach adulthood after 5 months.