Praying Mantis Ootheca identification guide

This guide has been created to give an overview of a handful of the most common species of ootheca you might find in either the wild or captivity. Some of these photos are fairly old so might be a little grainy/poor on colour, but as I get new photos I’ll add them.

Also note that many ootheca will be different sizes/colours/formations, so it can be fairly hard to distinguish just from 1 photos. You might also find ootheca of the same species but different sub species can look virtually identical, so it can be hard to distinguish between sub species.

If you have some photos of ootheca species that are on not on here that you’d like to add, feel free to get in touch and I’ll add them in (with full credit for all photos of course).

Whilst this list only provides a pictographic view of ootheca for identification purposes, I haven’t added specific incubation information for each species. Instead, the menu on the left has some links to information on different aspects of mantis breeding, and general information on incubation and best practise.

If you’re looking for ootheca for sale (as well as nymphs, adults, and other live insects), then check out the store links at the top of the page.

Happy identification!