Preying Mantis Habitat

The praying mantis is a beautiful, useful, hardy insect that can be found roaming about gardens in the spring and summer. The name comes from the prayer-like stance the insects often make with their long forelegs. They are often kept as pets, and setting up a praying mantis habitat is relatively easy given the right materials and some commitment.

  1. Natural Habitat

    • The mantises comprise over 2,000 species and are widely distributed throughout the globe. Most in the U.S. can be found in grassy areas heavy with vegetation. Mantises come in a wide range of colors, and use these for camouflage when trying to capture prey. Geographically, different varieties of the mantis can be found in North and South America, South Africa, Europe and some parts of Australia and Asia.

    Main Enclosure

    • Mantises can grow to around 5 inches or so, with females typically being larger than males, so when keeping a mantis at home an enclosure at least 18-inches long and 10-inches wide should be appropriate. A 10-gallon glass aquarium with a screen lid for ventilation makes a great primary enclosure for a mantis.

    Substrate

    • In the wild, mantises rarely touch the ground, preferring to spend most of their time in bushes, flower stalks or tree branches. Potting soil or jungle dirt, which can be found in pet stores, makes a good substrate for praying mantis habitats. You can usually find the proper bedding in the reptile aisle at most pet stores. Use about a half-inch to an inch of substrate in the enclosure.

    Temperature and Lighting

    • Mantises are not overly sensitive to temperature and room temperature, around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, typically suits them. They also do not require special lighting like reptiles and will do fine as long as they get moderate sunlight.

    Humidity

    • Praying mantises tend to absorb most of their water from their prey, but keeping the enclosure's humidity moderately high, around 60 percent, is important in giving them in all the moisture they need. Spraying down the tank walls with clean water a few times a day will usually help maintain the humidity, and the insects will often lick the water off the sides of the tank or the leaves. You can also provide a small water dish.

    Vegetation

    • Since mantises are mostly arboreal, it's important that you provide a plenty of climbing branches. You can use plants from outside or artificial ones found in pet stores. Mantises are carnivorous and will not attempt to eat the plants or branches, so you can get away with using artificial ones.