123

Numbers in the drawing: look here to identify it

  1. Leaf-shaped crest on the head
  2. Flat, wide pronotum
  3. Wings like a crumpled dead leaf

Mantises of the world

Ghost mantis

Phyllocrania paradoxa · Ghost mantis

Dead-leaf mimicPlays dead

A mantis that looks like a crumpled dead leaf. With the leaf-shaped crest on its head and its wide pronotum, it's hard to tell from leaf litter when it keeps still.

Scientific name
Phyllocrania paradoxa
English name
Ghost mantis
Family
Flower mantises (Hymenopodidae)
Body length
About 4.5–5 cm
Range
Many African countries and Madagascar
Range
Bushes, shrubs, and trees in dry regions

What kind of mantis is it?

There is a leaf-shaped crest on the head, the pronotum is flattened and wide, and the legs carry leaf-like lobes. The "wrinkles" you see on the wings aren't real wrinkles but color patterns.

How to identify it

  • A leaf-shaped crest rises from the top of the head.
  • The pronotum is flat and wide.
  • Body color varies from dark brown to gray-green.

Size comparison

Chinese mantisUp to 101 mm
Giant dead leaf mantisUp to 90 mm
Ghost mantisUp to 50 mm
₩500 coin (diameter)26.5 mm
024681012cm

Body length runs from the head to the tip of the abdomen, using the maximum of the larger sex. The bars only show relative size, so they don't match real size on screen.

Look-alikes

Ghost mantisThis page
123
  1. Leaf-shaped crest on the head
  2. Flat, wide pronotum
  3. Wings like a crumpled dead leaf
Giant dead leaf mantisGo see →
12
  1. Pronotum wide like a shield (pointed corners in females)
  2. Wings with a leaf-vein pattern

Versus the giant dead leaf mantis: the giant dead leaf mantis is bigger (6.5–9 cm) and is known for its greatly widened, shield-like pronotum.

Range

It lives in dry bushes, shrubs, and trees across wide areas of Africa and in Madagascar.

Behavior

When threatened, females and large nymphs play dead, while males fly away.

Compared with other mantises, cannibalism within the species is less common.

Fun facts

  • Body color changes at each molt and is affected by light and humidity. Care records say more individuals are greenish the damper it is.
  • Newly hatched nymphs look like black ants and run around actively like ants.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — Phyllocrania paradoxa
  2. Keeping Insects — Ghost mantis