Praying Mantis: Sphodromantis lineola - African Line Mantis CB by BugzUK

Terrarium
A suitable terrarium for this species would be 30cm x 30 x 30, if space is limited you can use a smaller terrarium with no problem, but this size allows the mantis to freely move about.
The terrarium should have reasonable ventilation to allow the freeflow of air to prevent a build up of mould or stale air
Provide plenty of good climbing branches
You do not need a substrate as the mantis spends all its time above ground and it is then easier to clean out , but if you want you can use a moistened coir or peart substrate to make the cage aesthetically more pleasing to the eye

Temperature / Humidity
This mantis can be kept at between 21 and 28 degrees comfortably and does not need a drop in temperature at night.
Spray or mist the cage every other day dependent on the type of cage. If it is a netted cage you will need to spray daily

Feeding
Mantis will gorge themselves if they can and they can eat themselves to obesity. Feed a large mantis like this 4 to 5 large crickets weekly.

Mating
When adult, allow your mantids 8 to 14 days after their final moult before pairing with each other.
Best time to attempt pairing is around dusk
Place the female in the males cage, preferably in front of the male so that the male sees the female but the female does not see the male and leave them too it ! The female is aggressive and will likely attack the male before , during or after mating so BEWARE....keep an eye on proceedings.
If you see the mantids mating, remove the male after coitus and keep for other females or to re mate after eggsacs are laid
The female, when mated will likely lay an ootheca between 7 and 20 days later. (An ootheca is the name given to the eggsac laid by mantis and cockroaches)
The ootheca will likely take 30 to 40 days to hatch and should be incubated at about 23 to 26 degrees and misted daily. Each ootheca will hatch out approx 100 nymphs give or take 30 or so !!!!!!!