What the heck is this and should I be holding it?

esmoot

Arachnobaron
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Dec 21, 2002
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I found about 10 of these in my back yard today....Ok not really. Someone gave this to me with some t's today. What is it and how do I care for it?

 

Steven

pede-a-holic
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that's a extatosama tiaratum,.... a phasmid from Australia,...
they need "rosebery"(or how do you call that in English) to feed on,.... about 25°C would do just fine,.... there not very stressconsistent,... so don't handle them to much,...


very nice phasmid species
 

esmoot

Arachnobaron
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Cool. How much room does it need and anything special like high humidity?
 

Phillip

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Easiest things to find as far as food goes are blackberry bushes and mulberry trees. Either are readily accepted by them.

Phil
 

Nixy

Arachnoprince
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Where can I Buy a few of those?
And if ood isn't readly avaliable, Can you get it online?
 

esmoot

Arachnobaron
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Thanks guys. I have Rose bushes and Blackberries all around so it'll have plenty to eat.
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by Nixy
Where can I Buy a few of those?
Not anywhere official. Phasmids are, sadly, very illegal due to USDA bans. Some of the tropical species are absolutely wild looking and easy to rear assuming you can keep a supply of food for them.
 

Nixy

Arachnoprince
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That sucks......
And I have dozens of rose bushes. And I Think there's about ten mulberry trees in the neighborhood.
Drat it.....
The twins would Love those too.....
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by Paladin
go to www.invertepet.com
I see that, is he trying to lose his business? Or is he hoping that no one in enforcement will find out about it because it's all the way at the bottom of his price list?
 

arachnopunks

Arachnobaron
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Code is right. The only way that you can send these to anyone is as dried specimens for mounting. We just sold 100 of our Anisomorpha buprestoides, Phasmidae, to a man in Taiwan and we could only do that as dried specimens. There are very strict regs in the USA and other countries on various insects because of the possibility of feral establishment and destruction of habitats because of feral introduction. Ask anyone from Australia.
 

Code Monkey

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Originally posted by gongyles
and by sending the egs of phasmid species?
The same restrictions apply. I know this is how they get traded, but it' s not at all legal in countries where they are controlled.

Personally, Wade made a very good point a while back when he pointed out that certain species, such as this one, have been kept by hobbyists for quite some time and there's no evidence they've been able to establish themselves in the wild. As such, I personally don't see the harm, but that's a different matter than a professional dealer listing them on his pricelist.
 

atavuss

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Originally posted by Nixy
That sucks......
And I have dozens of rose bushes. And I Think there's about ten mulberry trees in the neighborhood.
Drat it.....
The twins would Love those too.....
Nixy, have the twins raised silkworms yet? fascinating to watch them hatch out from tiny eggs and grow into adult size very fast then spin cocoons and turn into moths. eggs are available online and you have mulberry trees in your neighborhood.
Ed
 

Nixy

Arachnoprince
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Originally posted by atavuss
Nixy, have the twins raised silkworms yet? fascinating to watch them hatch out from tiny eggs and grow into adult size very fast then spin cocoons and turn into moths. eggs are available online and you have mulberry trees in your neighborhood.
Ed
:D

The twins currently have a mealworm colony. A superworm colony. And we have some silkies spinning. Crickets didn't trun out so well but we have regulare old mantid here that we catch alot.
The twins are Definat Bug girls. They like bugs better then anything with fur or feathers....
And I would Love to braoden their collection with some decent exotic sticks and mantids. I have the space and the tanks and containers.
I just need to be able to afford to by them some LOL.

Thanks. :)
 

Wade

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The USDA doesn't seem to care much about phasmids at the present time, and a lot of people are selling them openly on kingsnake.com and elsewhere. The fact that there's not much USDA enforcement could change overnight, however, and that would make me very nervous about selling them. Phasmids are not specifically targeted as pests, but fall under the comprehensive "potential plant pest" regulation. Any insect that feeds on any plant or part of a plant falls under the definition of "potential plant pests", so many insects that don't stand a snowball's chance in hell of ever becoming an actual pest in this country are still regulated.

Lack of funding is probably the main thing keeping the USDA from going after the pet trade aggressively (this may be a good thing, depending on your perspective ;) ). Their resources are tied up with other matters, such as dealing with the much greater threat from pests being introduced in imported produce and lumber.

Generally speaking, the big, showy insects that attract hobbyist interest are not those that are likley to become pests. I wish they would simply come up with an "exemption" list of insects that are desireable to private hobbyists that they recognize as not being a threat. It would make us happier and their job easier. Unfortunately, bug keepers are apparently not a big enough group to warrant the effort involved.

There are interesting native phasmids, however. In Nixy's region, the northern walkingstick ( Diapheromera femorata) should be present, albiet really hard to find. They REALLY look like twigs!

Wade
 
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