All legal Isopods in the US.A According to APHIS

[isopodgeek]

Got an email this morning from a person at APHIS and he told me that some of the Isopods in my permit( I included every single type I could find, about 25-30 species). He told me through email that he had to edit my application as some Isopods weren’t allowed.

This list of all species allowed without a containment facility is as follows:
Armadillidium klugii
Armadillidium maculatum
Armadillidium nasatum
Armadillidium vulgare
Atlantoscia floridana
Cubaris murina
Cylisticus convexus
Oniscus asellus
Porcellio laevis
Porcellio scaber
Porcellio spinicornis
Porcellionides floria
Porcellionides pruinosus
Porcellionides virgatus
Rhyscotus texensis
Trachelipus rathkii
Trichorhina tomentosa
Venezillo parvus

This is what I was told through email by someone from APHIS.

I will be talking to them tomorrow so if you have any questions, tell me so I can ask.

 

[isopodgeek]

I was also told that Springtails need a permit down to the the species.

 

[RoachCoach]

I was also told that Springtails need a permit down to the the species.

If they are native, then getting a permit is just a waste of your time/money. Pretty much all springtails sold online are native and are not disease vectors. But as others have said, ship them via UPS or FedEx if there is even an inkling of doubt. Shipping restricted animals USPS is a federal crime. It is no joke.

 

[isopodgeek]

If they are native, then getting a permit is just a waste of your time/money. Pretty much all springtails sold online are native and are not disease vectors. But as others have said, ship them via UPS or FedEx if there is even an inkling of doubt. Shipping restricted animals USPS is a federal crime. It is no joke.

What do you mean by this? I thought animals could be shipped via USPS?

 

[goliathusdavid]

What do you mean by this? I thought animals could be shipped via USPS?

USPS will ship most inverts (beetles, millipedes, roaches, etc), but will not touch any arachnids or centipedes. As exotic springtails can be disease vectors, they are likely restricted as well, hence the warning. If caught, shipping exotics without a permit can also bring serious consequences, as a few legal cases in the past few years have shown. The 2018 "plush toys" box containing AGBs probably being the most infamous. The story gained national attention as part of the attached investigative report:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/09/bug-smuggling-big-business/

 

[isopodgeek]

USPS will ship most inverts (beetles, millipedes, roaches, etc), but will not touch any arachnids or centipedes. As exotic springtails can be disease vectors, they are likely restricted as well, hence the warning. If caught, shipping exotics without a permit can also bring serious consequences, as a few legal cases in the past few years have shown. The 2018 "plush toys" box containing AGBs probably being the most infamous. The story gained national attention as part of the attached investigative report:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/09/bug-smuggling-big-business/

Thank you, have not shipped out any inverts yet. Thank you for informing me on this. I will ship FedEx 2 day mail for all invertebrates once I get my permits.

 

[isopodgeek]

USPS will ship most inverts (beetles, millipedes, roaches, etc), but will not touch any arachnids or centipedes. As exotic springtails can be disease vectors, they are likely restricted as well, hence the warning. If caught, shipping exotics without a permit can also bring serious consequences, as a few legal cases in the past few years have shown. The 2018 "plush toys" box containing AGBs probably being the most infamous. The story gained national attention as part of the attached investigative report:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/09/bug-smuggling-big-business/

Just read that whole article and it was very interesting. People can get in huge trouble for importing inverts without permits. I also found this article interesting as it happened in my state.