Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all. Sorry I do not have a link to refer you to, but I work at a fish and reptile store and was rather suprised by the news I recieved from my reptile supplier (CalZoo).

The message stated that the US Department of Agriculture has of right now banned imported millipedes and fancy mantids. It didn't give a reason why. I can only assume that it is because the imported species could wipe out native species. It said that they are currently confiscating fancy mantids at reptile shops, but have not done so yet with the millipedes.

Sorry for this bad news, I understand if you want to take it with a grain of salt, but I am just informing you of what I heard from my supplier.

Also apologies if this has already been posted.

This has already been discussed on the more popular board and I think everyone pretty much agreed it was a crock. The most commmon mantids in the US were introduced from overseas. They didn't wipe out the natives. Also, probably all exotics would die as soon as winter hit.

I see. When you say that it is a crock are you referring to the banning itself, or the reason for the ban? I highly doubt that my reptile/invert supplier would risk losing money by publishing something that wasn't confirmed.

I have been watching that thread on the other forum with interest. The subject came up and just sort of fizzled with nobody really having found out whether or not it is true. I have made the decision to leave this hobby soon unless they can verify that it is NOT true. I'm not into the whole "illegal" thing.

I just wanted to say....I think the reason people are sceptical is that the reptile place got their info from a biological supply source supposedly. The funny thing is that this is the only place that this has been heard about. It is kind of strange to think that someone was sitting in an office somewhere and decided all of a sudden that something needed to be done about mantids. After all...they are such a threat! LOL

My supplier did state that the law was apparently already on the shelves, just not being enforced. Several people have told me stories so far of mantid confiscations that they witnessed. I am 99.9% sure that this is factual.

I dont know about that whole thing. The USDA considers mantids to predators of predators of agricultural pests.... but that puts tarantuals in the same category. I really cant see them trying to ban those inverts and actually having it work. I guess we'll see. I didnt really find anything about it on the USDA website either.

It is not illegal to import Mantids, or any other live stock from overseas. It is however illegal to do so WITHOUT the proper permits. The proper permits can be obtained easily and many have done so without a problem.

Yes, we don’t consider the Mantid a “pest”, but it is classified as such for clerical purposes.

Check the following link for details….

http://199.132.50.50/Oxygen_FOD/FB_MD_PPQ.nsf/d259f66c6afbd45e852568a90027bcad/87c21cd2140647c1852568f2006698fe?OpenDocument

Actually, this is the main link, the other one is the listing of the documents.

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/forms/index.html

I searched the USDA and the Animal Health & Plan Inspection Services websites and there was nothing anywhere about an import ban.

And there are several stores online I found with new imports, so....

http://www.usda.gov
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/index.html

I have been looking as well. No info found yet. I contacted the NCSU entomology department and also the NC entomology association. I will post what I find out.

See my message above for the details you are looking for.

There is an added twist to this as well that may have been missed by some. When importing any live stock from overseas, the risk to native species can also come from any other organisms that may be hitching a ride with the one being imported.

For example, any number of pathogens, plants, parasites, etc. may also come in with the shipment. Often, the permits needed to import stock into the US also have to document procedures for containment and eventual destruction of the creature in question.

The bottom line is that many people import these things illegally. Being that is the case, I’m fairly certain that proper containment procedures on the part of the shippers are out the window. Mantids can come with samples of mites and other parasites that also pose a risk. They can also come with plant species that can be harmful to the environment.

Those of you who live in the south know how Kudzu has pretty much taken over everything. It was imported to help stop soil erosion but no one had any idea how destructive it could be, and has, become. In the Midwest, the USDA is at war with the Asian Longhorned beetle, another pest inadvertently imported in cargo shipments.

The bottom line is that it’s not just the species you are importing. Rather it is also the risk of anything that may come along with it.

Good luck!