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Atlas / Library / Empusidae / Devils Flower Mantis
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Empusidae

Devils Flower Mantis

Idolomantis diabolicaตั๊กแตนตำข้าว

Traceable. The figures above appear in the page we cite, which we opened on 10 Aug 2026. That means you can check them, not that we have confirmed they are right. richardsinverts.com

Photograph: Stephanie Dolrenry · CC BY-SA

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. Devils Flower Mantis is diurnal, so what it is doing changes with the light.

Arboreal · warm · middlingFrom the sheet: 30–40°C, humidity 40–60%

The way of life is written in this sheet, word for word. The climate words summarise the two figures above them, they do not add to them.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/idolomantis-diabolica

‹ All husbandry guides
Temperature30–40 °C
Humidity40–60 %
Enclosure40×40×60
Diet2–3 days

The numbers

Temperature

152025303540 °C
30–40°Ambient

One ambient band, 30–40°C. This sheet states no warm side, no cool side and no night figure, so none are shown. Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet states30-40°C by day (hot); cooler at night

Humidity

40–60%Target RH

The sheet states40-60% with strong airflow

Identity

Adult size

1.75 m13 cm
1520100400 cm
13 cmNose to tail, adult

The size the sheet states for a grown animal.

Why

Two drawings, because they answer two questions. The silhouette is at true scale against a 1.75 m person: it says how big this animal actually is, which no number does for someone who has never seen one. The bar under it is logarithmic and shared by every sheet here, so a 2 cm isopod and a 4 m python both stay readable on the same axis and two species can be compared at a glance.

Order / Family
Mantodea
IUCN / CITES
Not evaluated; CITES not yet in our data
Difficulty
Advanced
Commonality
Uncommon (prized)
Adult size
F ~13 cm; M ~10 cm (one of the largest)
Lifespan
F ~8–10 mo adult; total ~13–16 mo
Growth rate
Slow (long nymph stage, needs heat)
Activity & niche
Diurnal · Arboreal flower-mimic ambush (hot, airy)
Temperament
Docile but demanding; flying-prey specialist
Venom / defense
Harmless; grasp/pinch; spectacular deimatic threat display

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

40 cm60 cm
warm hidewatersubstrate
50100150200 cm
40 × 40 × 60 cmWidth × depth × height
16dm² of floor
Warm side: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesMesh/screen 40×40×60 cm; cannot climb glass

Temperature
30–40°C by day (hot); cooler at night
Humidity
40–60% with strong airflow
Min. enclosure
Mesh/screen 40×40×60 cm; cannot climb glass
Substrate
Dry coco/sand; mist plants only
Hides / decor / water
Many sturdy twigs; mist 1–2×/day to drink

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 2–3 dAs the sheet states
14Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statesFlying prey only — blue/green bottle flies, moths · Every 2–3 days; strict flying-prey ambush

Staple food
Flying prey only — blue/green bottle flies, moths
Feeding frequency
Every 2–3 days; strict flying-prey ambush
Supplements
None; gut-load flies

Behaviour and handling

HandlingDocile; handleable but fragile husbandry; avoid pre-moult
CommunalYes (with caution): can group with Idolomantis/Gongylus
Defense / stress signsRears into huge striped display; refuses non-flying prey

Reproduction

Life course

Day 0Hatch
0.7–0.8 yrLifespan in care
0.7 yrMinimum commitment
Sexual maturityNot in our data

Read from the lifespan and maturity the sheet states, for animals in care and not in the wild.

Why

The minimum commitment is the low end of that lifespan, and the reproductive window is what is left after maturity: both are subtractions on stated figures, not figures of their own.

Reproduction
Large ootheca; hatch ~6–9 wk; slow nymphs

Common health problems

Common health issues
SignsMismoult, mould from stagnant air, chilling stalls growth
Red flags / quarantine
SignsWon't take flies, lethargy, dark patches, mould

Good to know

  • Its threat display: the King of mantids: is among the most dramatic in insects
  • Its threat display — the King of mantids — is among the most dramatic in insects

What it needs

Enclosure at least 40 × 40 × 60 cmbecause enclosureMesh/screen 40×40×60 cm; cannot climb glass
A thermometerbecause temp30-40°C by day (hot); cooler at night
A hygrometerbecause humidity40–60% with strong airflow

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

Others in this group

What this sheet states

100%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

Every field this product runs on is stated here. That is not a claim that the values are right: it says what the sheet states, not whether it is true. Whether a human has read it is the badge at the top of this page.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.