where I can get exotic mantis species (orchid mantises)
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This is not the cheapest place to get them, but they usually have them and are known for quality and reliability.
http://www.mantisplace.com/mantisforsale.html
Welcome to yet another facet of the affliction..erm I mean addiction, no.. what do they call it here? Oh, yeah, The Hobby.
http://www.mantisplace.com/mantisforsale.html
Welcome to yet another facet of the affliction..erm I mean addiction, no.. what do they call it here? Oh, yeah, The Hobby.
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Also check out the http://mantidforum.net classifieds 
Exotic mantids are becoming way more available in the US which I think is great. I even saw some nice ones at the last reptile show.
Exotic mantids are becoming way more available in the US which I think is great. I even saw some nice ones at the last reptile show.
- Joined
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There are certain restrictions on certain species in certain localities, particularly in regard to shipping, but that statement is, overall, almost completely untrue.
Importing exotic mantids is illegal. There are several which are bred domestically that are legal to own. Shipping them inter-state may or may not be illegal, as some states have laws against this. In any case, a permit is required from APHIS I believe to ship interstate. Not everyone follows this regulation it seems and it is very difficult law to enforce.
They most certainly could theoretically impact the environment. The USDA would be so far up your ass you'd taste cow dung if they got out and started a breeding population, but here in ohio, fat chance! Too cold. Bugs are highly controlled by the USDA because of there uncanny ability to screw up an eco system (reference emerald ash borer), but they are allowed to be kept. Even at the zoo I formerly worked at the USDA was on us not to let even one non-ohio species of butterfly out or we'd be shut down if it became a recurring problem, and these were all united states species.
I could be wrong, but I checked the CITES list the other day and there were no mantis species listed in appendix one. In fact, I couldnt find any anywhere on CITES. Even if there were, you can still buy they and keep them if they're captive bread, just like almost all other exotic species of anything. Otherwise you'd never see demeril's ground boas or certain species of dart frogs, for a few examples, being kept.
I could be wrong, but I checked the CITES list the other day and there were no mantis species listed in appendix one. In fact, I couldnt find any anywhere on CITES. Even if there were, you can still buy they and keep them if they're captive bread, just like almost all other exotic species of anything. Otherwise you'd never see demeril's ground boas or certain species of dart frogs, for a few examples, being kept.
Maybe try this website? http://www.usamantis.com/Species.html.
Everyone jumps to the obvious but wrong conclusion.
It is not the mantids themselves (although that is not out of consideration). The problem that most often occurrs with imported insects is that bugs from foreign lands generally carry several pathogenic issues, such as mites, intestinal protozoans, worms, bacteria, etc., that are extremely harmful to things in the USA.
A fine example is the somewhat recent banning of imported African Giant Millipedes. These are already all over the place in the US, so why the ban?? Federal entomologists had recently identified a mite that has been eating U.S. cotton crops. As it turns out this mite lives with AGB's in Africa doing no harm there, and looks like the usual commensurate mite we see on the millis normally making it hard to know if its on them or not. So when these imported AGB's bring in the cotton-eating mite, American cotton crops suffer, the Fed's make the I.D., and the ban is put in place. Similar situations have occurred with several other bug species, which is why government organizations are so anal about imported bugs in general.