Devil's flower mantis
The devil's flower mantis is one of the biggest mantises in the world, and it pretends to be a flower. It sits very still until an insect comes close, then grabs it in a flash. When it is scared, it spreads its arms and wings to show off bright red, white, blue, purple and black colours.
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Fun facts
The females grow to about 13 centimetres and the males to about 10 centimetres long.
Its big eyes can see almost all around it, so it can spot prey without moving and giving itself away.
The boys have feathery feelers that help them sniff out a girl.
A mother lays about 10 to 50 eggs in a foamy egg case, and the babies hatch after about fifty days.
Many people around the world keep it as a pet because it is so beautiful.
Most asked questions about Devil's flower mantis
?How big is the devil's flower mantis?
The females grow to about 13 centimetres long and the males to about 10 centimetres.
?What does the devil's flower mantis eat?
Flying insects like flies, moths, butterflies and beetles.
?How long does a devil's flower mantis live?
Usually about one year.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Idolomantis diabolica
- Group
- Mantises
- Family
- Empusidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Mantodea > Empusidae
- Lives on
- Africa
- Also known as
- Giant devil's flower mantis
Where the facts come from
- Idolomantis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by unknown author. PD-US, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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