Ghost mantis
The ghost mantis looks just like a dry, crumpled dead leaf. It has a pointy head, flat leafy flaps on its legs and wings that look wrinkled. It is a small praying mantis that hides by staying perfectly still among dead leaves.
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Fun facts
The wrinkles on its wings are not real folds at all, only darker colour painted on to look like a dry leaf.
It can change colour each time it sheds its skin, from almost black to greenish grey, depending on the light and dampness around it.
When something scares it, a big female plays dead, while a male runs or flies away.
Its tiny babies are dark and look like ants, which helps keep them safe.
Up to 36 babies can hatch from one egg case.
Most asked questions about Ghost mantis
?Is the ghost mantis dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people.
?How big is a ghost mantis?
It is a small mantis, about 4,5 to 5 centimetres long.
?Why is it called a ghost mantis?
It looks like a dry, pale, crumpled leaf and can stay so still that it almost disappears.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Phyllocrania paradoxa
- Group
- Mantises
- Family
- Hymenopodidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Mantodea > Hymenopodidae
- Lives on
- Africa
Where the facts come from
- Phyllocrania paradoxa (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 Mydriatic. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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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