When someone says the word "mantis," most of us immediately picture a praying mantis. You know, the ones with the long, folded pincer arms and females with the unfortunate habit of decapitating their mates.
However, that's only one kind of mantis and it turns out that many other mantis species are pretty cool too — and far less murderous.
(Admittedly, I will never be one of those people, but fully support people who are.)
Tiny ghost mantises are special for their amazing camouflage.
And yet, while being tiny and cute, they also have that slight creepy factor that's pretty much a requirement for any bug species.
Their natural habitat is found across the African continent and in Madagascar.
Their coloring is determined by how humid the environment around them is. The damper the air, the greener they are. Which makes a lot of sense, since real leaves would dry out a lot slower in humid air.
As long as there is plenty of food provided to the tank, the mantises will all live peacefully together. This also allows for regular reproduction among the community, which is pretty cool from an amateur scientist, circle of life standpoint.
h/t:Keeping Insects
