[2][3] The species is native to Sarawak on Borneo, where it occurs on Mount Serapi, a few kilometers west of Kuching.

At night they climb up the food plants in order to feed on them, often eating the leaves directly on the leaf base.

In case of danger, the species shows the defensive behavior typical of all members of the subfamily Heteropteryginae, including stridulation with wings and flapping with the spiny hind legs.

The barrel-shaped to spherical, brown eggs are sunk a few centimeters deep into the ground with theovipositor at night.

[3] In 1859 John Obadiah Westwood described the species as Heteropteryx dehaanii, using the specific name in honor of the Dutch zoologist Wilhem de Haan has chosen.

A species described by Josef Redtenbacher as Heteropteryx dipsacus in 1906[5] was also classified by Günther as a subspecies of Haaniella grayi.

Bragg was able to prove in 1998 that the specimens described under this name are Haaniella dehaanii, whereby Heteropteryx dipsacus was recognized as a synonym of the same.

[6] In addition to temperatures of 20 to 27 °C (68 to 81 °F), the animals primarily need high humidity and therefore prefer glass terrariums with little ventilation.