Temperature: Day 25 - 30 ° C, night room temperature Scientific name: Pseudocreobotra ocelletaįinal size: males approximately 4 cm, females about 5 cm The mantis is able to kill prey several times larger than itself While at rest it is well camouflaged, and is a sufficiently good aggressive mimic of a flower that prey insects can attempt to pollinate it, at which moment the mantis seizes and eats them. wahlbergi has a deimatic display in which it spreads its forewings, making itself appear larger and prominently displaying its eyespots to startle would-be predators. The female lays egg cases almost three times its size. The species is common in captivity and is easy to rear. The hind wings are orange on the inner part and transparent on the outer part. It has a striking spiral '9' mark on its forewings providing a conspicuous eyespot in black, green and cream surrounded by a green patch. It is variable in colour, being typically greenish, but it can equally be yellowish, pinkish or reddish. The adult has spiny structures on the underside of its abdomen, giving it its name. They are easy to care for and if well fed can be kept communally ultimately breeding and laying ooths.ġ.5 inches or 38 millimetres) native to southern and eastern Africa. wahlberghii ocellata is a beautiful flower mantis and a wonderful species to have. It has wing markings that resemble the letter Q. I refer to this mantis as the 'Q' mantis. The adults are aggressive mimics of flowers, waiting until prey approaches to grasp it with their foreleg. ocellata, like those of Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii, are marked with a large brightly coloured eyespot which is used in deimatic display to startle predators. The wings of the male are longer and wider than the abdomen, while the female's wings are narrower than the abdomen and can only briefly sustain flight. There are spiny projections under the abdomen, 6 in the male, 5 in the female.

The male reaches 25 mm long, the female 32 mm. The adult has bold disruptive coloration in cream and green, providing effective camouflage against flowers and in damp leafy places. It was described by the French naturalist Palisot de Beauvois in 1805. Pseudocreobotra ocellata, known as the African flower mantis or (with other species) as the spiny flower mantis is a Flower Mantis (1.5 inches or 38 millimetres) native to Africa, ranging from Angola and South Africa in the south to Uganda in the east and Senegal in the west.

Flowering praying mantis