Best News Since Goliathus Deregulation

The Mantis Menagerie

The Mantis Menagerie

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
355
I have USDA permits, and I receive notifications about changes to the permitting system. I just received a notification about some changes that will go into effect on August 9. I confirmed the meaning of the email with a USDA entomologist, and I learned that a list of several hundred insect species is about to be deregulated. I tried to attach the PDF to this post, so hopefully it is accessible. This is a draft from a docket that was on regulations.gov. Since it is a draft, there may be some differences in the species listed in the final draft. This is the same docket that @BeetleExperienc started a thread on to enlist people to comment during the public comment period.
 

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chanda

chanda

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
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Was there something particularly interesting in that list that I missed? Most of the species appear to be either things that are already so widespread in the U.S. that "permitting" them doesn't really make much difference, or are commonplace pests that are already routinely (albeit accidentally) transported in household goods during a move, in bulk shipments of goods that are transported cross country, or on plants or plant products that are shipped from place to place. So really, all it's saying is if I move from one state to another, and have pests like bean weevils, German cockroaches, Indian meal moths, navel orageworms, furniture beetles, fruit flies, aphids, or whiteflies hiding in my household goods, my stored food products, or on my houseplants, the USDA isn't going to cite me for it... which they don't do anyway.
 
The Mantis Menagerie

The Mantis Menagerie

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
355
chanda said:
Was there something particularly interesting in that list that I missed? Most of the species appear to be either things that are already so widespread in the U.S. that "permitting" them doesn't really make much difference, or are commonplace pests that are already routinely (albeit accidentally) transported in household goods during a move, in bulk shipments of goods that are transported cross country, or on plants or plant products that are shipped from place to place. So really, all it's saying is if I move from one state to another, and have pests like bean weevils, German cockroaches, Indian meal moths, navel orageworms, furniture beetles, fruit flies, aphids, or whiteflies hiding in my household goods, my stored food products, or on my houseplants, the USDA isn't going to cite me for it... which they don't do anyway.
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The cockroach section is good, and it may allow hobbyists to donate more to museums and zoos. It is hard to work through the restrictions involved with regulated organisms. The bigger part of this is that the USDA has deregulated a large number of insects, including some roaches for hobbyists.
 
A

Arthroverts

Arachnoking
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
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True, but all the roach species that have been deregulated are already so pervasive in the hobby that it doesn't really matter whether they deregulate them or not. APHIS wasn't really doing anything to prevent the sale and breeding of these species anyway, so all it does is allow for more imports of this species to be brought in (which can help with genetic diversity but may also fuel the decline of these species in their natural habitat).

If they had deregulated many of the less common species I would say it would be time to rejoice, but this doesn't really change anything.

I do think this is a step in the right direction however, and it may open the door down the road to further deregulations of invertebrates, maybe even of exotic millipedes and other insects.

Thanks for sharing,

Arthroverts
 
A

Arthroverts

Arachnoking
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Jul 11, 2016
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By the way, when did Goliathus get deregulated? I didn't know about that.

Thanks,

Arthroverts
 
mantisfan101

mantisfan101

Arachnoprince
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Dec 26, 2018
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This still means that we can keep some species of exotic roaches freely without permits. I tip my hat to you and your efforts; thank you so much!!!! Now if only if we could do likewise to some exotic mantids...
 
mantisfan101

mantisfan101

Arachnoprince
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Also, it looks like pogonomyrmex occidnetalis was on the list as well. Does this pertain only to workers or for queens as well?
 
MasterOogway

MasterOogway

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jun 19, 2016
Messages
294
Arthroverts said:
True, but all the roach species that have been deregulated are already so pervasive in the hobby that it doesn't really matter whether they deregulate them or not. APHIS wasn't really doing anything to prevent the sale and breeding of these species anyway, so all it does is allow for more imports of this species to be brought in (which can help with genetic diversity but may also fuel the decline of these species in their natural habitat).

If they had deregulated many of the less common species I would say it would be time to rejoice, but this doesn't really change anything.

I do think this is a step in the right direction however, and it may open the door down the road to further deregulations of invertebrates, maybe even of exotic millipedes and other insects.

Thanks for sharing,

Arthroverts
Click to expand...

It may not matter to the average hobbyist, but for those of us that are legally and morally obligated to follow the laws and permits to the letter because of our profession, this sort of thing makes our lives 1000000000x easier.
 
The Mantis Menagerie

The Mantis Menagerie

Arachnobaron
Joined
Aug 17, 2018
Messages
355
Arthroverts said:
I do think this is a step in the right direction however, and it may open the door down the road to further deregulations of invertebrates, maybe even of exotic millipedes and other insects.
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This is the main point. I agree that many of the species are already so common that no one bothers with permits, but it is good to see any sort of deregulation.
mantisfan101 said:
This still means that we can keep some species of exotic roaches freely without permits. I tip my hat to you and your efforts; thank you so much!!!! Now if only if we could do likewise to some exotic mantids...
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This is not my work. I have just been asking the USDA entomologist about the list for the past year. This list took over a decade.
Exotic mantids, assassins, and beetles are annoying. Most common pet species probably do not pose much risk, but they require high levels of containment. I could understand having a permit requirement to keep them out of environments (FL, CA...) where they could easily proliferate. Requiring permits would make people aware of the need to keep exotic species contained. The problem is the containment aspect that makes the permits almost unobtainable for a hobbyist.
mantisfan101 said:
Also, it looks like pogonomyrmex occidnetalis was on the list as well. Does this pertain only to workers or for queens as well?
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I need to ask about that. I have been wondering as well, especially since the termites have the worker caste specification and these do not. Plus, this is not the final draft. When the final regulations come out August 9, there may be some changes.
 
K

khil

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 5, 2010
Messages
316
Yay, slowly but steadily insect hobbyists are being treated like humans instead of being criminalized and marginalized.
 
BeetleExperienc

BeetleExperienc

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 18, 2005
Messages
166
I had known about many things on this list that were to be de-regulated a few years ago. Good to see it is finally going through but for the most part - not many of us will be super excited by the species on the list.

Goliathus was 2016/17. I was able to start working with them about a year before that.

http://beetlesource.com/index.php/goliath-beetle-legal
 
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SonsofArachne

SonsofArachne

Arachnoangel
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mantisfan101

mantisfan101

Arachnoprince
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SonsofArachne said:
Do you know anyone selling any?
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I think he’s the only one at the moment but some hobbyists managed to buy some from him. You could try contacting him for some but I will warn you, they will not be cheap and it will be a while before these become more common in the hobby.
 
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