IUCN Conservation Status –
Least Concern
Extinct In The Wild
Class: Insecta
Order: Mantodea
Family: Mantidae
We have 2 great Indonesian mantises at Paignton Zoo, you can find our female on display in Bugs at Home. Our male mantis will remain off-show and they will only mix for courtship purposes.
This large mantis species is found across Southeast Asia, from Indonesia and Malaysia to the Philippines and Vietnam, and even in introduced populations in Hawaii and Italy. It blends into foliage with green or brown coloration, making it an effective ambush predator in forests and grasslands.
Fun facts
- They are large and striking mantises with the females reaching 6 cm, and males reaching 5.2 cm in length
- They exhibit colour polymorphism, which means individuals appear in shades of green or brown depending on their environment
- Females use pheromone-releasing and visual displays, arching their abdomen to attract males
- They show notable intraspecies variation in foreleg spination and genitalia across different regions, suggesting possible subspecies or cryptic diversity
Conservation
They are not listed as endangered or threatened, with no major conservation concerns documented.