Hierodula sp 'Sulawesi' - Yellow-Bellied Mantis

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Temperatures often exceed 30 degrees centigrade throughout the year giving the island a hot and sticky feel. Humidity levels are especially high in the rainy season meaning this mantis thrives in elevated moisture conditions.​

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🟡 Species Description

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At first glance, the Sulawesi Giant Mantis could easily be mistaken for the well‑known Giant Asian Mantis (Hierodula membranacea). The overall silhouette is similar: long, athletic, and unmistakably Hierodula. But a closer look reveals the features that make this species one of the most visually striking members of the genus.

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🌈 Colouration & Distinguishing Features

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The Sulawesi mantis carries a palette that sets it apart from its more common relatives:

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• A rich yellow underside, glowing warmly when the mantis stretches or displays

• Orange‑edged raptorials, giving the forearms a sharp, fiery outline

• Soft pinkish legs, adding a subtle but beautiful contrast to the otherwise green body

• A clean, streamlined profile typical of Hierodula, but with a slightly more delicate finish

 

These colours are especially vivid in well‑lit enclosures and become more pronounced as the mantis matures.

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📏 Size & Build

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Although similar in shape to H. membranacea, the Sulawesi species is smaller by approximately 20 mm. What it lacks in sheer size, however, it more than makes up for in personality and presence.

 

This species is:

• Lively and alert

• Fast on the strike

• Highly responsive to movement

 

It embodies the classic Hierodula athleticism but with a slightly more refined, colourful appearance.

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🦗 Behaviour & Feeding Style

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Like all Hierodula species, the Sulawesi mantis is a true hunter, not an ambush predator. They prefer to actively pursue prey rather than wait passively, and their feeding response is both confident and enthusiastic.

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Expect:

• Strong, accurate strikes

• A willingness to take on larger prey

• A bold temperament that makes them a joy to observe

 

Despite their assertive feeding behaviour, they are generally calm around keepers and adapt well to handling during routine maintenance.

 

🍽️ Diet

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In the wild, the Sulawesi Giant Mantis is an opportunistic, high‑energy predator capable of subduing almost anything it can physically restrain. Their natural menu

 

includes:

• Grasshoppers and katydids

• Scorpions and spiders

• Large flies and wasps

• Cockroaches and beetles

• Small reptiles and amphibians when opportunity allows

 

This species is built for speed and power, and their feeding response reflects that — if it moves, they will consider it.

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🏡 Diet in Captivity

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In captivity, the goal is to provide nutrient‑dense, safe, and appropriately sized prey that supports strong growth and clean moults.

From early instars onward, they feed readily on:

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• Flies (D. hydei, green bottles, blue bottles)

• Small roaches, gradually increasing to adult Red Runners or similar as they grow

 

These feeders encourage natural hunting behaviour and are easy to manage in a home setup.

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❌ Feeders to Avoid

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Crickets should be avoided entirely with captive mantises. They carry a higher risk of:

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• Parasites

• Bacterial contamination

• Biting or injuring the mantis

• Stressing the enclosure environment

 

For a safer, high‑protein alternative, locusts are ideal and widely available from most pet shops and online suppliers.

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🪰 Flies & Fly Larvae

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Flies — and their larvae — are among the best all‑round feeders for this species. They are clean, easy to culture, and excellent for stimulating a strong feeding response. Once you get the hang of using them, they quickly become one of the most convenient and reliable feeder options in your rotation.

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Feeding (mantis in general);

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Praying mantis do not eat on your regime, temperatures affect an insect’s metabolism greatly, which dictates their requirement for nourishment. Viewing their abdomen is the best and only intelligent way to decide if your mantis requires food. Overfeeding a mantis can result in abdominal ruptures and death, so it is always best to gauge your mantis’s hunger level by its girth. A flat-bodied mantis needs feeding. If you can see the membrane between the segments on the underside of the abdomen, then the mantis is full, and you should wait before offering more.

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It is normally best to feed some foods, such as locusts and cockroaches, with tongs one at a time rather than allowing them to roam their enclosure. Any food not eaten after several hours will need to be removed. The mantis could wish to moult or be full and become stressed with uneaten food flying/ crawling around.

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Please, remember, males do not eat as much as females once they attain adulthood and may go weeks without, and at times refuse food entirely. This is perfectly normal. Females need more food because fertile or not, they still produce an ootheca, which they develop inside their bodies, made from the proteins they consume.

 

Temperatures and Humidity;

 

As mentioned above, an average of 70-80% humidity and a temperature of 27-32 °C will keep this species happy, allowing for a few degrees either way. All praying mantises expect a drop in temperature during the night-time hours, so if the temperature drops as low as 22 °C at night, it won’t harm your pet.

 

Enclosure;

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Googling the enclosure size for any mantis will give you the same result every time. 3 x the length of the mantis = height of the enclosure, 2 x = width of the enclosure. This would be adequate if it were an empty tank, but as I’m sure you will be placing substrates inside, this may affect the moulting ability of your mantis, so I would always suggest 4x the length and not 3x

 

These sizes work out for every mantis at any age, thus making the answer easy for all. Before your mantis gains adult size, avoid decorating or planting out your enclosure too heavily. i.e., you shouldn’t have anything in the way when moulting is underway.

Mantises also require a mesh lid so they may hook on and hang from the top when they moult. If this is not provided, your mantis will attempt to moult in places that could result in a bad moult, which often results in death or missing limbs, or other external or internal damage.

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This is a large, friendly mantis that will happily live outside an enclosure, free-roaming at will once adult if a large plant is provided. Praying mantises like to go upwards and rarely come down to the floor unless sick or looking for a place to lay an ootheca.

 

Please be aware that if you have other pets that free-roam where your mantis lives that they can often become snacks for dogs, cats, and birds. They’re tough, but not indestructible. A large plastic or real plant placed on an eye-level shelf should allow your mantis to live out the rest of its life without ever needing to leave its new home.

 

Please note, this is not advisable if you do not fully understand the behaviour of your pet, and all mantis have their own characters and behaviours.

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Breeding;

 

'Sulawesi' are quite an easy mantis to pair. Well fed females are less aggressive that most other species and most males are eager to get on with the job.

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​See here to go to the Mantis Garden YouTube Channel for a short video on pairing this species.

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The females are best mated at over 3 weeks after their last moult and well fed, with males mature enough to pair after 10-14 days after moulting to adult. Males should be fed before a pairing is attempted. I have experienced males being aggressive towards feeding females during this time if not fed beforehand. Females can be paired at 3-4 weeks after gaining adulthood, but will be much harder to work with and more aggressive towards the male(s).

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Place a male on the wall of the mesh enclosure, and then place the female a few inches (5 cm) in front of him on the mesh. At this point, one of two things will happen. The male will become interested and he will become transfixed on the female’s movements, or he will run/ fly away. If the latter happens more than two or three times, there is a good chance that he is not yet ready to pair, and it is best to put him away and try again in a few more days, or you could be in for a very long and frustrating time.

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The male will be more inclined to make a move if the female does not stay stationary. Blowing on them gently can encourage movement of the female, which in turn will instil false confidence in the male that will start to stalk the female. When he starts to move forward towards her, you will need a small child’s paintbrush or chopstick in case things don’t go to plan and you need to prevent the female from ensnaring the male in her raptorial legs.

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Once he has mounted the female, he will spend a long time (if it is his first time) attempting to enter her by hooking his abdomen around to connect with her. After connecting, they can stay locked together for 6-24 hours.

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Laying;

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After mating, ootheca will be laid in around 1-4 weeks, depending on food intake. The female requires a high-protein diet when making the ootheca within her body. Avoid such feeders as waxworms during this period, as they contain too many fatty compounds that could result in a female becoming “ooth-bound.” Locusts and cockroaches, especially dubia roaches, are the highest protein feeders and are suitable for this time.

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Provide several sticks if possible, or keep the female free-roaming on a large plant (not advised if you have other predatory pets at home such as cats and dogs)

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