U.S. BANS millipede and mantid importation

[Stylopidae]

Pretty much what I gatherd from my sources as well. Seems silly as with what i could gather the mites dont kill the bees, rather they use thier hives as refuge untill they devlope.

Well, they deform the bees. Bees that emerge from hives infested with the varrosa mite often come out missing legs and wings and are shunned by the rest of the colony.

We've been spelling the parasite's name wrong all this time

Oops

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa_destructor

The problem is, they don't even reproduce on other insects so I don't see how the USDA has justified this ban. I'm also having trouble figuring out how it can jump from millipede to bee, although from mantis to bee is technically possible but highly unlikely.

 

[Garrick]

Garrick,
. . . you're a blathering idiot who doesn't even have the faintest idea about why I feel so strongly about this or even what I'm talking about in general.

Garrick, any person who puts blind faith in their government as you have without even taking a single look at the laws that affect them needs to go back to grade school.

I really can't imagine why you'd have such a difficult time with getting taken seriously by USDA.
Good luck with your outreach program, and I hope you find many homes for invertebrates at the pet shop.
:clap:

 

[Stylopidae]

I really can't imagine why you'd have such a difficult time with getting taken seriously by USDA.
Good luck with your outreach program, and I hope you find many homes for invertebrates at the pet shop.
:clap:

To whom it may concern

As of late, there have been multiple cases of animals being confiscated by your organization. I've been told by multiple sources that this is because of concerns of a parasitic mite that affects honeybees, namely varrora destructor.

I've been reading your regulations and have found many terms lacking of clear definition and I'd like the input from your organization to clear things up.

1.) Are the recent raids at reptile shows related to the aforementioned mite that is destroying honeybee colonies?

2.) Are invertebrates that originated in the US before the sudden enforcement of the ban subject to the same enforcement?

A copy of the last letter I sent, minus the signature that included my first and last name. I'm still waiting for a reply.

The question isn't whether or not the USDA takes me in particular seriously. What I am concerned about is whether or not they're taking the proper steps to inform the public of their policies and any decent government agency should do this.

So feel free to send a copy of the letter I posted above to someone at APHIS and see if you get a response. If you actually get through, then post any results you get.

In the meantime, do more research on the subject on the boards. There's many threads about the same topic.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

US BANS millipede and mantid importation...

Varroa mites infest BEES. Varroa mites are CARRIED BY BEES.
The officials who claim that either the USDA or the USFWS
can "control" BEE PARASITES by banning mantids are withholding
information because such ignorance is embarrassing.

The millipede ban may be less idiotic.
Mites often lurk in the same damp detritus as millipedes do.
A careless collector might "pick up" some mites...by mistake....
But the "forbidden" mites are already in this country.
If that "banning" business ever made any sense whatsoever it
certainly makes none now...save to bureaucrats who LIKE to be paid
to CONTROL PEOPLE...not democratic types.
Quite the contrary.
People who want to live in a land of liberty will have to fight this.
You have already observed that official offenders ignore individuals.
We'll have to LINK with GROUPS and stand together to be heard.

Yours very truly,

ONE WHISTLE BLOWER.

 

[Stylopidae]

Varroa mites infest BEES. Varroa mites are CARRIED BY BEES.
The officials who claim that either the USDA or the USFWS
can "control" BEE PARASITES by banning mantids are withholding
information because such ignorance is embarrassing.

The millipede ban may be less idiotic.
Mites often lurk in the same damp detritus as millipedes do.
A careless collector might "pick up" some mites...by mistake....
But the "forbidden" mites are already in this country.
If that "banning" business ever made any sense whatsoever it
certainly makes none now...save to bureaucrats who LIKE to be paid
to CONTROL PEOPLE...not democratic types.
Quite the contrary.
People who want to live in a land of liberty will have to fight this.
You have already observed that official offenders ignore individuals.
We'll have to LINK with GROUPS and stand together to be heard.

Yours very truly,

ONE WHISTLE BLOWER.

I'm working on this and may have something to announce somewhat soon.

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[xelda]

As for pushing for change, I disagree with you here. The sweeping vagueness of the law allows them to point a finger at just about anything to make the higher ups believe there's an actual threat and clear them for a higher budget, more personell, etc. They're not going to push for change for their own benefit. It's just simply beneficial to them to keep the laws the way they are.

Well, that and the fact that I've emailed them half a dozen times with my questions and haven't gotten a reply.

I personally know they are trying to make changes because I've had numerous e-mail exchanges in the past with their senior entomologist.

 

[Stylopidae]

I personally know they are trying to make changes because I've had numerous e-mail exchanges in the past with their senior entomologist.

Would it be possible for you to forward those Emails to me?

 

[ctsoth]

Vorroa mites have nothing to do with other inverts. They only affect "honey bees." They reproduce inside of the hive, and any reproduction outside of the hive is strictly impossible as they rely on the bee brood cycle....

Banning millipedes and ANY invert over the Vorroa mite is absolutely retarded... Except in hawaiip and other vorroa free areas. But even then, the only inverts that vorroa affects are honey bees.

 

[Nich]

If you've been following the thread im sure you noticed that (through a bit of search) the mites have been in the US scince the 80's. SOmething else is going on, not akin with just the threat of mites, may be a factor but seems a bit of a weak card to play to completley ban inverts that "may carry something thats already been here" for sometime. I mean think about it. Im sure that all of us meet people that think T's are deadly or arent sure of the "danger".....more often then not. The same principal applies to the majority of politically active not involved in any sort of biology based (or at least conciensus) drive. Ive probed all of the suppliers I know, same story. No specifics as far as a list of X'd imports, or mention of any to come.

 

[ctsoth]

I am a beekeeper and I know quite a bit about the vorroa mite being that it is something that I have to deal with. I have seen them with my own eyes


If you would like any info on vorroa go to www.beemaster.com and go into the forums and do some searches. Any beekeeper knows this is a bee related problem, not the problem of other inverts....

 

[Stylopidae]

The varrora thing seemed odd to me, too...however all the information I've ever gotten has pointed to that as the reason, both inside and outside these forums.

I would be thrilled if there were more to the story than I knew, however like I said earlier...all my attempts to contact anyone at the USDA revealed nothing.

Xelda...if it would be possible to forward the emails (or the general contents) to me, please do so at your convience.

 

[Spider-Man v2.0]

my one qestion is are thay confinscateing giant african millies?

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

Dear Spider Man:

We do need to prepare for war.
Since the kind who generate problems for invertebrate fanciers do that to VERTEBRATE fanciers upon any excuse we need to link to vertebrate fanciers in order to assemble the numbers (and political muscle) to make an impression upon such arrant political bullies as these.

Reptile fanciers are natural allies.
Their animals are far more likely to need insects than abuse.

"Alternative livestock" and "unusual pet people" are also allies.
THEY encounter a LOT of "guff" for keeping animals that are "different."

Please consider connection.

We need them...And they need us.

 

[Spider-Man v2.0]

will thay confinscate them tho?

 

[Wade]

Supposedly, they have confiscated them from importers, but as of yet they have not confiscated them from private owners.

Wade

 

[Stylopidae]

Supposedly, they have confiscated them from importers, but as of yet they have not confiscated them from private owners.

Wade

And unfortunately, there's no promise they won't confiscate from keepers who legally bought stock bred inside the country.

And because of vague laws, there's no promise they won't start confiscating other hobby staples in a similar manner.

 

[Goanna]

Has anyone else noticed that it seems like certain millipedes are still coming in too?

I talked with an importer the other day and he said he just got a bunch of millies in which were legally imported and claered by USDA and Customs, so what's up with that now?

Not only this one importer, but I see lists from pet shop distributors all the time and BIG african black millipedes are always available. I dont think they are using the same stock they had 2-3 years ago before the USDA ban so they definitly have still been coming in.

I need to talk to someone at the USDA about permits anyway for another situation, maybe I can get some info out of them about this whole situation and wether or not anything has changed (I wont mention the actual distributors of course).