Keeping your mantids in zoos?

[meaganelise9]

In Madison, WI we have a free zoo called Henry Vilas Zoo. They're interested in my bugs. Any advice or experience with this? Has anyone else contributed to a zoo with mantids? By meeting with him to discuss it, am I going to be incriminating myself? Just curious..

 

[meaganelise9]

That being said, I may be shopping for new bugs sooner than expected.

 

[Colorcham427]

Be careful. Ask him or her if you can remain anonymous. Better yet, if the person is not a close friend, don't do it. Zoo's generally do paper work on any exchanges that are "live"........

I have a friend who knows people at a couple Zoos and he helps me sell katydids and cave crickets that I catch for him in September. They know him well so there isn't much info. exchanged. There is plenty of paper work before they pay him though!

Are you planning on just donating? Why not lead the person (if her/she is a good friend of yours) to one of our sponsor's sites?

 

[meaganelise9]

I guess I was thinking of donating mantids or information, though I wouldn't want to get anyone else into trouble in the process.

 

[itzjustjeff]

How did they find out about your mantids? I don't see the harm in going to meet with him to discuss the matter since they are running a public educative business. If they ask you questions that are out of the ordinary or seem questionable you can always choose not to answer! From what I have experienced with my other hobby, the only time my friends dealt with trouble of that sort was through import/export issues. We had someone who did research at UCLA take care of customs licensing through the means of research and it was fine.

I think it's more of an issue if they think you aren't knowledgeable about what you are doing, which im sure you are! Most people that I've come across are more concerned about the potential hazards of housing invasive species and the risks that may follow from poor containment. Just give them peace of mind and if you are breeding maybe think about accidentally overlooking the matter. :shifty:

What species were you planning on donating?

 

[meaganelise9]

I got into a conversation with someone and came to know that he works at the zoo. So far I've been careful about my wording, and like you said, I can choose to withhold certain information. I figure the good that could come of this is that I could potentially be raising exotic mantids Legally since I assume a zoo would have or could get the proper permits for non-indigenous bugs.

 

[meaganelise9]

as to what species.. no idea. so many possibilities, and I'd need to sit down and talk about what would be ok, what would be ideal, etc. Each species has it's own unique quality. Some are easy. Some are cute. Some look amazing but are hard to keep alive. Some are legally easier to come by. Some aren't easy to find here. Some are big and might be easier for guests to look at.

 

[patrickfraser]

If the zoo has all the proper permits, I believe they must divulge, in detail, the whereabouts that the species was received. If they have a proper permit, the permit will cover them, but won't be of any use to the anonymity of the supplier. Tread lightly.

 

[itzjustjeff]

I figure the good that could come of this is that I could potentially be raising exotic mantids Legally since I assume a zoo would have or could get the proper permits for non-indigenous bugs.

Or a job opportunity! Or at least access to handle the mantids as a volunteer/consultant/tank maintainer; it definitely puts your foot in the door. Goodluck with everything!

This is all in light if the matter of you only sharing information and not mantids..I agree with Patrick

 

[mantisboy]

The road to he11 is paved with good intentions! Unless they are a T Sinensis Species I wouldn't bother...more trouble than it's worth.

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[meaganelise9]

I'd thought Chinese may be a good place to start while I test the waters. I am curious to see what they have to say though.

 

[lancaster1313]

I donated some Eurycotis floridana (roaches) to our local bug zoo and there were no intrusive questions and no paperwork on my end for them. They are a local species and that may have been why.

My daughter and I just got to come in and look around a bit and even went home with a mantis. It would have been expensive to visit otherwise, and I may not have been able to see what was going on behind the scenes.

Florida law is strict on what kinds of creatures can be kept, even by the zoo. As far as mantids go, I was told that the zoo could only keep a couple of local species and ONLY Detroplatys dessicata as an exotic, for some reason.

It could all depend on the local laws and the person who runs the zoo.

In my case, it was a great experience and I will do it again anytime I have something that interests him, provided that the zoo can display the species.

Plus, I got to talk about bugs in person with someone who was knowledgable and actually raises them. hone: That is rare around here and I only know 2 locals who will happily talk about and raise bugs.

 

[yen_saw]

.....Florida law is strict on what kinds of creatures can be kept, even by the zoo. As far as mantids go, I was told that the zoo could only keep a couple of local species and ONLY Detroplatys dessicata as an exotic, for some reason.

.....

Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, FL is allowed to keep Deroplatys lobata and Deroplatys desiccata only too. Likely due to the permit limitation.

 

[patrickfraser]

I'm a member of the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and have been pondering looking into volunteering. They have a really cool learning area for kids with lots of critters.

 

[meaganelise9]

Thanks, guys! This is helpful.

 

[meaganelise9]

Man, you guys had me all scared, but I had a great time at the zoo! I met with various people and we discussed where we're going to put them and how we can make changes to existing habitats to make them appropriate for mantids. Fun fun. I basically wrote up a quick list of native mantids I could easily get and then another list of non-indigenous mantids I could get, since they weren't sure what they would be able to get a permit for just yet. This is all in the brainstorming phase I guess, anyway, so we talked about starting with some Chinese and Religiosa and going from there. We will talk specifics later when the educational director gets back from school in Australia, since she will have the final say in the herpetarium/discovery center building they will end up in, but I imagine mantids would be a nice addition to any educational display! They're too fun to watch, really. How could see say no? And then I got to meet some really awesome tropical birds that were super docile from being raised by hand. One just wanted to come land right on me as soon as I came in. Awesome stuff!

 

[kunturman]

Each bug zoo has a permit with a list of all the exotic ( non native) bugs they are aloud to exhibit.

If they brake this law they pay a price or loose their license. Spiders and other arachnids seem to be an exception in regards to exotics, but that is another story.

If the bug zoo has a permit for D dessicata and D lobata, then that is all the exotics they can exhibit. All local mantids can be exhibited without permits.

If a Wisconsin Bug Zoo applies for exotic mantids, it will be granted a greater amount of species than the bug zoo from Southern Florida. WHY?, because Wisconsin winters controls exotics effectively.

My advice, don't worry to much, leave that responsibility to the Bug Zoo.