Giant Asian Mantis (Hierodula membranacea) Care Sheet
Quick Facts
Common Name: Giant Asian Mantis / Giant Asian Praying Mantis
Scientific Name: Hierodula membranacea
Family: Mantidae
Order: Mantodea
Adult Size: Approximately 7–10 cm, with females generally larger and more robust than males
Lifestyle: Arboreal/vegetation-dwelling ambush predator
Activity: Primarily diurnal
Diet: Live invertebrates
Temperament: Bold feeding response; generally manageable but predatory and potentially defensive
Housing: Individually
Lifespan: Approximately 12–18 months overall, with females generally living longer than males
Experience Level: Beginner to intermediate
Introduction
The Giant Asian Mantis (Hierodula membranacea) is a large and impressive praying mantis commonly maintained in captivity.
It is an active visual predator equipped with powerful raptorial forelegs that allow it to seize and restrain live prey.
Adults are commonly green, although brown and intermediate colour forms can occur.
Compared with many more delicate mantis species, Hierodula membranacea is generally considered relatively robust and adaptable, making it a suitable introduction to mantis keeping when its basic requirements are understood.
The single most important aspect of mantis husbandry is providing sufficient vertical space for moulting.
A mantis must be able to hang completely free of the ground while emerging from its old exoskeleton.
Failure to provide this space can result in permanent deformity or death.
Size
Adult Giant Asian Mantises are large insects.
Females commonly reach approximately:
8–10 cm
Males are generally somewhat smaller and considerably more slender.
Females develop large, heavy abdomens, particularly when mature and carrying developing eggs.
Males retain a more lightweight appearance and have proportionally longer wings.
Enclosure
The enclosure must be designed around the mantis’s moulting behaviour.
A useful general rule is that the enclosure should be at least:
3 × the mantis’s body length in height
and approximately:
2 × the mantis’s body length in width and depth
Larger enclosures can be used provided the mantis can still locate prey easily.
For a large adult female, an enclosure around:
30 × 30 × 45 cm
provides generous accommodation.
The enclosure should be:
- Tall
- Secure
- Well ventilated
- Easy to access without disturbing the mantis
- Furnished with suitable climbing and hanging surfaces
Young nymphs should be housed in appropriately smaller containers and upgraded as they grow.
Moulting Space
This is one of the most important sections of this care sheet.
Mantises moult while:
Hanging upside down.
The mantis grips a branch, mesh or other secure surface and emerges downward from its old exoskeleton.
It requires unobstructed space beneath itself.
As a minimum, provide approximately:
2–3 times the mantis’s body length of clear vertical space beneath its preferred moulting position.
If the mantis contacts the floor or furnishings while its new exoskeleton is still soft, it can develop:
- Bent legs
- Deformed raptorial arms
- Damaged wings
- Spinal/body deformities
- Inability to hunt
- Fatal moulting complications
Never overcrowd the enclosure with decorations that prevent a clean hanging moult.
Enclosure Roof
The mantis must be able to grip the enclosure ceiling securely.
Suitable materials include:
- Fine plastic mesh
- Insect mesh
- Other safe textured surfaces
Smooth glass or plastic alone is inadequate as the only ceiling surface.
Metal mesh should be used cautiously because some types can damage the feet of climbing invertebrates.
A secure, appropriately textured ceiling gives the mantis somewhere reliable to hang during moulting.
Ventilation
Good ventilation is essential.
The enclosure should ideally provide:
Cross-ventilation
rather than relying on a few small holes in the roof.
Ventilation helps prevent:
- Stagnant air
- Excessive condensation
- Mould
- Fungal growth
- Persistently saturated conditions
A humid enclosure should never smell stale or remain continuously dripping wet.
Temperature
Giant Asian Mantises thrive under warm conditions.
A useful daytime temperature range is approximately:
24–28°C
A slightly warmer area approaching:
28–30°C
can be provided, provided the mantis can retreat to cooler conditions.
Night temperatures can decrease to approximately:
20–23°C
without difficulty for healthy animals.
Avoid prolonged excessive temperatures.
Warmth increases metabolism, so animals maintained very warm will generally:
- Develop faster
- Eat more
- Moult more rapidly
- Potentially have a shorter overall lifespan
Moderate warmth is therefore preferable to attempting to maximise growth.
Heating
In a warm reptile room or heated home, additional heating may not be required.
If supplementary heating is necessary, the safest approach is generally to warm the surrounding environment rather than intensely heating the small enclosure.
Avoid:
- Heat rocks
- Uncontrolled heat mats
- Powerful basking lamps
- Direct contact with radiators
Small invertebrate enclosures can overheat extremely quickly.
Any supplementary heating should be appropriately controlled.
Lighting
Giant Asian Mantises are visual daytime predators.
Provide a clear day/night cycle.
Approximately:
12 hours light / 12 hours darkness
is suitable for general maintenance.
Bright ambient or LED lighting helps support normal:
- Hunting
- Activity
- Orientation
- Circadian rhythm
Special UVB lighting is not required for routine mantis husbandry.
Never position a small enclosure in direct sunlight because temperatures can rise to dangerous levels extremely quickly.
Humidity
Moderate humidity works well for this species.
Approximately:
50–70% relative humidity
is a useful general range.
Around 60% provides a reasonable target for routine maintenance.
However, humidity should fluctuate naturally rather than remaining fixed.
A light misting can raise humidity before the enclosure gradually dries again.
The aim is:
Moderate humidity + good ventilation
rather than continuously wet conditions.
Excessive moisture and poor ventilation can encourage fungal growth.
Conditions that are excessively dry can contribute to dehydration and moulting problems.
Misting & Drinking
Mantises obtain much of their moisture from prey but will also drink droplets.
Lightly mist part of the enclosure approximately:
Every 1–2 days
depending upon temperature, ventilation and ambient humidity.
The mantis may drink droplets from:
- Leaves
- Mesh
- Branches
- Enclosure walls
Avoid spraying the mantis directly.
The enclosure should have an opportunity to dry between misting sessions.
Young nymphs can dehydrate more rapidly than large adults and require closer monitoring.
Water Dishes
A conventional open water dish is generally unnecessary and can present a drowning hazard, particularly to nymphs.
Hydration is better supplied through:
- Properly hydrated feeder insects
- Appropriate environmental humidity
- Drinking droplets produced by light misting
Do not place deep standing water inside a mantis enclosure.
Furnishings
The enclosure should contain climbing and perching structures without becoming overcrowded.
Suitable furnishings include:
- Thin branches
- Twigs
- Artificial plants
- Suitable live plants
- Vines
- Mesh climbing surfaces
Branches should extend toward the upper portions of the enclosure.
The mantis should have several suitable places from which to hang.
At the same time, preserve clear vertical space beneath the ceiling and major perches for moulting.
Substrate
Substrate is not essential for the mantis itself but can help with enclosure maintenance and moisture regulation.
Suitable options include:
- Coco fibre
- Reptile-safe soil
- Paper towel
- Bioactive substrate
Paper towel is particularly convenient for simple enclosures because waste and uneaten prey can be removed easily.
Whatever substrate is used, it should not remain permanently saturated.
Feeding
Giant Asian Mantises are enthusiastic predators.
They require live moving prey.
Suitable feeder insects include:
- Flies
- Blue bottle flies
- Green bottle flies
- House flies
- Moths
- Crickets
- Locusts
- Appropriate roaches
- Other suitable captive-bred feeder insects
Flying insects are particularly useful because they encourage natural hunting behaviour.
A varied diet is preferable to relying on a single prey species.
Feeding Nymphs
Very young nymphs require correspondingly small prey.
Suitable foods include:
- Drosophila melanogaster
- Drosophila hydei
- Other suitably sized fruit flies
As the mantis grows, gradually increase prey size.
Young actively growing mantises can generally be offered food approximately:
Every 1–2 days
depending upon prey size and abdominal condition.
Feeding Juveniles & Adults
Larger juveniles and adults can generally be fed approximately:
2–4 times per week
depending upon:
- Prey size
- Abdomen condition
- Temperature
- Age
- Sex
- Reproductive condition
A large adult female may consume substantial prey.
However, unlimited feeding is unnecessary.
Body Condition
The abdomen provides a useful indication of feeding status.
A well-fed mantis develops a noticeably rounded abdomen.
A very thin abdomen can indicate hunger or dehydration.
A heavily distended abdomen suggests that additional food is unnecessary.
Feeding should therefore be adjusted according to the individual rather than following a rigid schedule.
Unsafe Prey
Do not offer wild-caught insects from areas where pesticide exposure is possible.
Avoid potentially dangerous prey such as:
- Bees
- Wasps
- Large aggressive predatory insects
- Venomous or chemically defended invertebrates
- Insects exposed to pesticides
Captive-produced feeder insects are preferable.
Do not deliberately offer vertebrate prey.
A large mantis may physically be capable of attacking very small vertebrates, but this is unnecessary and provides no husbandry advantage.
Premoult
Before moulting, a mantis commonly:
- Stops feeding
- Becomes less active
- Spends more time hanging
- Develops a fuller or altered appearance
- Refuses prey it would normally attack
Food refusal shortly before a moult is normal.
Remove live feeder insects once premoult is suspected.
Crickets and similar feeders can disturb or injure a vulnerable moulting mantis.
Moulting
During a moult, the mantis hangs upside down and gradually pulls itself free of its old exoskeleton.
Do not disturb it.
Never:
- Touch the mantis
- Move the enclosure
- Offer prey
- Spray the mantis directly
- Attempt to pull away the old exoskeleton
The newly moulted mantis is extremely soft and vulnerable.
Its colour may initially appear unusually pale.
It must remain hanging while the new exoskeleton expands and hardens.
After Moulting
After moulting, allow the mantis approximately:
24–48 hours
before offering prey.
Large adults may benefit from the longer end of this range.
The raptorial forelegs and mouthparts need time to harden before the animal attempts to restrain prey.
Do not handle a freshly moulted mantis.
Final Moult & Wings
The final moult transforms the mantis into its adult form.
During this moult, the wings expand to their full size.
Adequate space is especially important.
Insufficient moulting room can result in permanently:
- Crumpled wings
- Twisted wings
- Damaged legs
- Other deformities
Once adulthood is reached, the mantis will not moult again.
Any deformity acquired during the final moult is therefore permanent.
Handling
Giant Asian Mantises can often be handled carefully.
However, handling is not required for their wellbeing.
If handling:
- Allow the mantis to step onto your hand
- Do not grab it
- Keep movements slow
- Handle close to a safe surface
- Avoid handling immediately before or after moulting
A frightened mantis may:
- Attempt to escape
- Jump
- Fly
- Raise its raptorial arms
- Strike defensively
- Attempt to bite
Large females can deliver a surprisingly strong defensive pinch or bite.
Housing Individually
Hierodula membranacea** should be housed individually.**
This species is highly predatory and cannibalism is a significant risk.
Do not routinely house:
- Nymphs together
- Adult females together
- Adult males together
- Male/female pairs permanently
Even well-fed individuals may attack one another.
Temporary supervised introductions should only occur for deliberate breeding.
Sexing
As the mantis develops, males and females become increasingly distinguishable.
One useful method involves counting abdominal segments visible from underneath.
Females generally show approximately:
6 visible abdominal segments
while males typically show:
8 visible abdominal segments
Adult females are also generally:
- Larger
- More robust
- Broader-bodied
- Heavier
Adult males are generally:
- More slender
- Lighter
- Equipped with proportionally longer wings
- More capable and willing flyers
Sexing becomes easier as nymphs mature.
Adult Males
Adult males are usually considerably more active than females.
A mature male may:
- Wander frequently
- Fly
- Become less interested in food
- Search persistently for females
This behaviour is normal.
Male lifespan after reaching adulthood is considerably shorter than that of females.
Adult Females
Adult females become large, heavy-bodied insects.
A mature female may develop an extremely enlarged abdomen as eggs mature.
Females generally feed more heavily than males and live longer after reaching adulthood.
A female does not need to mate in order to produce an ootheca.
Unmated females can lay infertile oothecae.
Breeding
Breeding Giant Asian Mantises requires care because sexual cannibalism is possible.
Both animals should be fully mature.
It is sensible to wait approximately:
2–4 weeks after the final moult
before attempting breeding.
The female should be very well fed beforehand.
Introduce the animals in a large, uncluttered environment where the male has room to escape.
The male should ideally approach the female from behind.
Offering the female prey can sometimes keep her occupied while the male approaches.
Never assume that a female will tolerate a male.
Mating
If receptive, the male mounts the female and curls his abdomen around to establish genital contact.
Mating may last for several hours.
Do not disturb the pair unnecessarily.
After mating, the male should be allowed to move away and should then be separated.
Leaving the male permanently with the female greatly increases the risk of cannibalism.
Ootheca
Rather than laying individual exposed eggs, female mantises produce a protective egg case called an:
Ootheca
The female produces a foam-like material around the eggs which subsequently hardens.
A mature female may produce several oothecae.
A single mating may potentially fertilise more than one ootheca because sperm can be stored.
Oothecae are commonly attached to:
- Branches
- Twigs
- Mesh
- Enclosure walls
- Other elevated surfaces
Do not forcibly remove a firmly attached ootheca unless necessary.
Ootheca Incubation
An ootheca can often be incubated successfully under environmental conditions broadly similar to those used for the adults.
Warm conditions around:
25–28°C
with moderate humidity and good ventilation are appropriate.
The ootheca should not be kept continuously wet.
Light occasional misting around, rather than directly saturating, the ootheca can help maintain appropriate environmental moisture.
Depending upon temperature and other factors, hatching may occur after approximately:
4–8 weeks
although development time varies.
Hatching
A successful Hierodula membranacea ootheca can produce a very large number of nymphs.
Dozens to well over 100 offspring may emerge from a single ootheca.
Anyone considering breeding this species must therefore have:
- Suitable nymph enclosures
- Large quantities of tiny live food
- Time for frequent feeding
- Space for eventual individual housing
prepared before the ootheca hatches.
Nymph Care
Newly emerged nymphs are extremely small compared with the adult female.
They require:
- Secure accommodation
- Extremely fine ventilation
- Appropriate warmth
- Moderate humidity
- Safe moulting space
- Abundant tiny live prey
Fruit flies are particularly useful as first food.
Suitable species include:
Drosophila melanogaster
and, as nymphs grow:
Drosophila hydei
Food can generally be introduced after the newly emerged nymphs have settled.
Separating Nymphs
Very young nymphs may sometimes temporarily tolerate one another where:
- Space is abundant
- Food is continuously available
- Visual barriers are present
However, cannibalism becomes an increasing risk.
For maximum survival, nymphs should be:
Separated and housed individually as they grow.
Do not wait until serious cannibalism has already begun.
Cleaning
Remove:
- Dead feeder insects
- Prey remains
- Faecal material
- Mould
- Excess organic waste
regularly.
Avoid major enclosure disturbance while the mantis is preparing to moult.
Cleaning tools should not contain pesticide or chemical residues.
Because mantises are insects, exposure to household insecticides can rapidly be fatal.
Health & Common Problems
Mismoults
One of the most serious captive problems.
Possible causes include:
- Insufficient vertical space
- Inadequate gripping surfaces
- Disturbance during moulting
- Inappropriate environmental conditions
- Weakness or illness
Severe deformities can prevent a mantis from feeding or moving normally.
Dehydration
Possible signs include:
- Weakness
- Poor coordination
- Reduced activity
- Difficulty moulting
Ensure appropriate hydration and environmental moisture.
Falls
A freshly moulted mantis that falls before its exoskeleton hardens can develop severe deformities.
Overheating
Small enclosures can reach dangerous temperatures rapidly.
Keep them away from direct sunlight and uncontrolled heat sources.
Pesticide Exposure
This can be rapidly fatal.
Never use:
- Fly spray
- Flea spray
- Aerosol insecticides
- Household pesticides
near a mantis enclosure.
Wild insects from chemically treated areas should never be used as feeders.
Lifespan
The total lifespan of Hierodula membranacea is relatively short compared with reptiles and tarantulas.
Approximately:
12–18 months
is a reasonable broad expectation, although development and longevity vary according to:
- Sex
- Temperature
- Feeding
- Individual genetics
Females generally live longer than males.
Warmer temperatures and heavy feeding can accelerate development but may shorten the overall time spent at each life stage.
Summary
The Giant Asian Mantis is a large, impressive and relatively straightforward mantis when its fundamental requirements are understood.
Successful husbandry centres around:
- A tall, well-ventilated enclosure
- At least 2–3 body lengths of unobstructed moulting space
- A secure mesh or textured ceiling
- Moderate warmth
- Moderate humidity
- Light misting and access to drinking droplets
- Appropriate live insect prey
- Individual housing
- Removal of prey during premoult
- Complete lack of disturbance during moulting
- Careful management of breeding and oothecae
The single most important principle is:
A mantis must have enough room to hang freely during every moult.
Many serious captive problems occur not because the animal was fed incorrectly, but because enclosure design prevented a successful moult.
With appropriate space, ventilation, live prey and careful observation, Hierodula membranacea is a fascinating species through every stage from tiny nymph to impressive adult.
Important: This care sheet provides general husbandry guidance. Individual animals may require adjustments according to age, sex, developmental stage and condition. Avoid pesticide exposure around all captive invertebrates.