I have never eaten them, so I can't say whether they are good or not.
Also, they are terrible animals to try to keep in an aquarium not just because of the temperature - and the fact that this is one animal that can take out a glass tank, but because they invariably develop a black rot fungal infection that is fatal. The antennal scales, antennules and antennae and even the eyes will develop it and rot off.
All that said, the reason I'm interested in them is for research. First, they are one of the very few stomatopods that make a sound other than just by smashing the substrate. We published a paper last year describing a low frequency (30-50 hz) hum or growl that is produced by a pair of specialized musles that vibrate the posterior edges of the carapace. However, we don't know the context of the sound. We have only recorded it from males in the lab and that was in a defensive agonistic context (hydophone being pushed near the head). I have heard it in the field in the spring coming from burrows, so I suspect that the sound my be used in mate attraction or courtship, but we don't know if females also make it or when and how it functions. Also,stomatopods have no known ear. It sounds to reason that if they make sound, they should be able to "hear" it. I have yet do do playback experiments to see if they respond to the sound. If they do, they I would like to look for the ear. Finally, the mature males have a strongly polarized pair of red patches on their carapace. We would like to understand how these function.
So yes, I am not being altruistic trying to warn people away from buying Hemisquilla. What I'm really hoping is for someone to want to help me out and ship me a few. Even better, I would like to find collectors or trawlers who would sell them to me direct.
Roy
