Adult Ghost Mantis - Part of my menagerie

Compared to many other praying mantises, the ghost mantis is a "miniature species" It comes in various brownish shades from very dark brown to greenish gray. An individual's colors change between molts and are also dependent on light and humidity levels. Phyllocrania paradoxa is camouflaged so as to appear as dead, dried-up leaf material. Predators such as birds tend to overlook insects that resemble their background, and by staying still the ghost praying mantis can go unnoticed. If threatened, big nymphs and adult females adopt thanatosis, i.e. they play dead, whereas adult males run or fly away. P. paradoxa oothecae can hatch out up to three dozen young. All original content. Copyright Kyle Nelson Burdash aka Bug Attraction / Phidippus Project