Metilia (Stal) – Miniature South American Dead Leaf Mantis

Introduction

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Metilia are the epitome of a pocket-sized mantis. Small, but deadly, these little hunters are almost impossible to find in the wild. This is one of the few species that exhibit obvious differences in camouflage strategies. Females rarely move and have wings that help them hide as dead leaves. They will rock side to side, and even tumble and play dead if disturbed heavily. Males on the other hand forego their dead leaf mimicry when they become adults, and instead opt for mimicking decayed, living leaves. When bothered, they will spread their arms out, revealing a deep red, and flash their ruby red eye like abdomen. They have green wings, rarely yellow, with brown coloration at the end that looks for all the world like a rotting leaf.

Despite their exquisite look, this species is incredibly hardy. They are tolerant of a wide range of conditions and are aggressive hunters, willing to tackle prey that is much larger than one would expect for their size. This is only possible because of their powerful raptors and short but stocky legs, which let them grapple with a wide variety of prey.

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Sexing

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As with all mantises, males have 8 external sternites, and females have 6. Males are also distinguished by their skinnier abdomens and differing wing shape.

 

Keeping

 

Metilia can be housed communally until older instars, as they are fairly tolerant of each other when younger.

 

Recommended space is as follows:

 

Instar 1 – 4  16 oz Deli Cup

Instar 4 – Adult 32 oz Deli Cup

 

Using the metric above, an appropriate amount of space should be provided for communal setups to minimalize cannibalism.

 

Feeding

 

Instar 1 - 4 – Drosophila species

Instar 5 – Adult – Houseflies, Blue bottle flies, Small Crickets, Roaches

 

Breeding

 

Metilia are difficult to mate. Females take 4 - 6 weeks to mature on average, and males take 2 – 3.  However, males only live for about a two months after the adult molt, so the timing of the adult molt must be synchronous. Introduce the female to the males container and offer her some prey. Males are extremely skittish, so keep disturbance of the male at a minimum. If the male Is interested he will begin to approach, and then flare his wings to dance for the female. He will then attempt to mount and copulate.

 

After mating the female will lay anywhere from 4 - 8 oothecae over her lifetime around every 3 - 4 weeks. 4 – 5 weeks incubation at room temperature, around 30 – 50 nymphs will hatch per oothecae. At this size they will be able to eat  Drosophila melanogaster.