Sad Canadian

[ArcticMantis]

Hey y'all,

I'm a Canadian bug enthusiast who will be starting his masters in biology soon. I'm going to be working on praying mantis predatory behaviours,  such as hunting site selection and prey selection. Since Canada has exactly one native mantis species, I'm going to be working with the already well-established European mantis, because they're one of the few mantids that are legal to have/ buy/ sell in Canada. 

I discovered the restrictions here while looking to buy a Ghost mantis (they look really cool :0), only to discover they're not allowed in Canada without a super intense permit. It's part of a blanket policy to prevent invasives from being introduced, so even though they're not really an invasion risk (Canada is heckin cold, especially compared to the ghost's native range), I can respect that they don't have time to screen EVERY SINGLE species in the world. But still. Makes me sad.

Because of this, the mantis community in Canada is kind of... bellow the radar. Definitely harder to find people than in the U.S. I'm mostly here to connect with other mantis lovers, and maybe to figure out where (or if) there are like-minded folks in my area.

Cheers!

-ArcticMantis

 

[hysteresis]

@ArcticMantis

Welcome. I'm in the GTA and keep ten species. My bugs are still nymphs, so im not breeding. Ship FedEx or UPS overnight from the US and they get in. Dont declare anything.

There is someone on the west coast of Canada with orchids, if youre interested.

There's also a guy in PQ with ghosts but im not sure if hes passing nymphs along.

I got my ghosts and spinys from South Carolina. Im pretty sure that dude still has some.

If you need more info, message me.

 

[MantisGirl13]

Welcome to the forum! 

- MantisGirl13

 

[Graceface]

Welcome! 

Canada has it tougher than the US in terms of finding mantids, but as @hysteresis mentioned, there are some people here from the great North. It is also possible to get international sellers to ship to Canada, if you ask around you may find some. It would probably be a good thing to stick to Europeans for your experiments due to the potential illegality of specimens, but for personal keeping you could procure a different species. You can always post a 'wanted' ad in the classifieds and see what you turn up with

I almost touching Canada in WA, that makes us neighbors!

 

[Mantis Lady]

Welcome

 

[hysteresis]

@ArcticMantis people in academia are likely to be granted permits for P. paradoxa. I wouldn't be too worried.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Good to see you here, you will find more on here from your place too, welcome!

 

[Beramoss]

Welcome! The mantis community up here sure is hard to break into. I'm in the same boat, trying to connect with other Canadians. I'm on the west coast in BC. 

 

[Mitch65009]

I'm also from the GTA. I've been looking around for years and having trouble finding breeders around here. There are a few on this site, and the only place I could find that I can buy a few from. Best of luck to you though!

 

[hysteresis]

I'm also from the GTA. I've been looking around for years and having trouble finding breeders around here. There are a few on this site, and the only place I could find that I can buy a few from. Best of luck to you though!

I havent found any. @Beramoss in BC has orchids as of late.

Beyond that, ive been lucky to work out deals with a couple of cool Americans.