Shipping a Mantis to Hawaii...pitfalls and problems, any solutions?

[cobaltplasma]

hey board, I got a few questions and problems regarding online purchases and shipping a mantis to Hawaii. My mother has purchased various fish online, shipped no problem... the seller I tried to purchase a mantis shrimp from has also shipped to hawaii without a hitch. Recently, though, that purchase went astray and the department of agriculture refused entry for the critter and had him returned; I can only hope that he made it back okay, I really, really hope he did.

So that brings me to my conundrum: How can I go about purchasing a mantis online and have it successfully shipped into the state of Hawaii? Has anyone had any success, either purchasing/receiving or shipping to this state? Can I 'borrow' one of your mantises, Dr. Caldwell, and just say that I'm a 'research taxonomy assistant under your employ'?

I'm half-venting, half-inquiring...I was really bummed that I couldn't get my mom her N.wennerae for her birthday and would like to get her one, a smasher, some time...those seem to be pretty uncommon here, all the divers I know just see spearers (my guess is P.ciliata like the one I have now). Ah well, thanks for readin' and thanks in advance for any replies and insight.

Dr. Caldwell, I work for cheap, a mantis a year tops and I'm good to go

 

[liverock]

Re: Shipping a Mantis to Hawaii...pitfalls and problems, any solutions?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13464350#post13464350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cobaltplasma
hey board, I got a few questions and problems regarding online purchases and shipping a mantis to Hawaii. My mother has purchased various fish online, shipped no problem... the seller I tried to purchase a mantis shrimp from has also shipped to hawaii without a hitch. Recently, though, that purchase went astray and the department of agriculture refused entry for the critter and had him returned; I can only hope that he made it back okay, I really, really hope he did.

So that brings me to my conundrum: How can I go about purchasing a mantis online and have it successfully shipped into the state of Hawaii? Has anyone had any success, either purchasing/receiving or shipping to this state? Can I 'borrow' one of your mantises, Dr. Caldwell, and just say that I'm a 'research taxonomy assistant under your employ'?

I'm half-venting, half-inquiring...I was really bummed that I couldn't get my mom her N.wennerae for her birthday and would like to get her one, a smasher, some time...those seem to be pretty uncommon here, all the divers I know just see spearers (my guess is P.ciliata like the one I have now). Ah well, thanks for readin' and thanks in advance for any replies and insight.

Dr. Caldwell, I work for cheap, a mantis a year tops and I'm good to go

You cannot import any inverts....or live rock to Hawaii...been that way for years!

sea ya
Richard TBS:rollface: :rollface: :rollface:

 

[cobaltplasma]

I guess you can't in theory, legally speaking heh, but for others including several family members there's been instances, recently, that live specimens for private use were in fact allowed in. I was hoping someone here had a plan (ill-devised or not haha) to get a mantis to me, but I suppose I'll expand my search throughout the state, see if I can find an LFS on Oahu maybe that could procure a small smasher for me

Ah well, thank you for the reply, it's appreciated

 

[Blood For Coral]

if you are in Hawaii, talk to fish and game to see if you can snorkel for one.

 

[Gonodactylus]

There are several common stomatopods in Hawaii. Pseudosquilla cilata and Gonodactylaceus falcatus both occur intertidally and are easy to collect. P. ciliata can be seen cruising a low tide when the water is just a couple of inches deep and can be taken with a net. G. falcatus live in cavities in live rock. To find them, I look for rocks at the low tide line that have a perfectly round hole about half and inch in diameter. I usually carry a piece of wire that can be inserted into the cavity. If I feel a strong strike, I know that a stomatopod is living in the cavity. Lysiosquillina are also common in the low intertidal on sand flats, but their 3 inch diameter burrow entrances are usually capped during the day and are hard to find. Even if you do locate a burrow, catching the animal is difficult. (I use a noose inserted into the burrow.) It is legal to collect stomatopods in Hawaii if you have a fishing license, but there are preserves and marine protected areas where collecting is not allowed so you need to check with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (http://hawaii.gov/dlnr).

If you don't want to try to collect a stomatopod yourself, there are several marine collectors in Hawaii who know what stomatopods are and who occasionally catch them. You might try contacting aquarium stores. They often work with local collectors and should be able to order a stomatopod for you or put you in touch with a collector.

Hawaii is justifiably concerned about the introduction of invasive pests and a single female stomatopod storing sperm could colonize Hawaiian waters. In fact, this has already happened. Before WWII, G. falcatus did not occur in Hawaii. By 1965, it was the most common stomatopod on Oahu and has now spread to all of the islands. Today in Kaneohe Bay G. falcatus are found in almost every rock and have impacted gastropod and hermit crab populations as well as some fish that live in rock cavities. Our best guess is that it was introduced following the war when concrete barges were towed back from the Philippines. The stomatopods were living in cavities in the concrete.

We don't have to worry about introducing stomatopods typically sold in the aquarium trade into most coastal marine waters on the mainland because they cannot survive and breed at temperatures below about 68 degrees. However, a species like N wennerae could survive and reproduce in Hawaii and I suspect that if notified, Hawaiian regulatory agencies would not allow them into the state. I would agree with that position.

Several years ago I was helping the BBC make a film on stomatopods. We shot much of the initial footage in my lab at Berkeley and used a very large male O. scyllarus for many of the sequences. We then went to Hawaii to shoot additional segments and wanted to bring the O. scyllarus with use to get some footage in "natural aquaria". I applied for a permit and was initially told no. Eventually, with the help of marine biologists at the University of Hawaii, we were given a permit to bring in one male O. scyllarus, but it had to be inspected at the airport on arrival and again when we took it back to Berkeley. (The inspector asked me how to tell if it was a male and not wanting to try to show him the gonopods, I told him that you could tell that it was a male because it was so colorful!)

Roy

 

[tthnow]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13492963#post13492963 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gonodactylus
There are several common stomatopods in Hawaii. Pseudosquilla cilata and Gonodactylaceus falcatus both occur intertidally and are easy to collect. P. ciliata can be seen cruising a low tide when the water is just a couple of inches deep and can be taken with a net. G. falcatus live in cavities in live rock. To find them, I look for rocks at the low tide line that have a perfectly round hole about half and inch in diameter. I usually carry a piece of wire that can be inserted into the cavity. If I feel a strong strike, I know that a stomatopod is living in the cavity. Lysiosquillina are also common in the low intertidal on sand flats, but their 3 inch diameter burrow entrances are usually capped during the day and are hard to find. Even if you do locate a burrow, catching the animal is difficult. (I use a noose inserted into the burrow.) It is legal to collect stomatopods in Hawaii if you have a fishing license, but there are preserves and marine protected areas where collecting is not allowed so you need to check with the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (http://hawaii.gov/dlnr).

If you don't want to try to collect a stomatopod yourself, there are several marine collectors in Hawaii who know what stomatopods are and who occasionally catch them. You might try contacting aquarium stores. They often work with local collectors and should be able to order a stomatopod for you or put you in touch with a collector.

Hawaii is justifiably concerned about the introduction of invasive pests and a single female stomatopod storing sperm could colonize Hawaiian waters. In fact, this has already happened. Before WWII, G. falcatus did not occur in Hawaii. By 1965, it was the most common stomatopod on Oahu and has now spread to all of the islands. Today in Kaneohe Bay G. falcatus are found in almost every rock and have impacted gastropod and hermit crab populations as well as some fish that live in rock cavities. Our best guess is that it was introduced following the war when concrete barges were towed back from the Philippines. The stomatopods were living in cavities in the concrete.

We don't have to worry about introducing stomatopods typically sold in the aquarium trade into most coastal marine waters on the mainland because they cannot survive and breed at temperatures below about 68 degrees. However, a species like N wennerae could survive and reproduce in Hawaii and I suspect that if notified, Hawaiian regulatory agencies would not allow them into the state. I would agree with that position.

Several years ago I was helping the BBC make a film on stomatopods. We shot much of the initial footage in my lab at Berkeley and used a very large male O. scyllarus for many of the sequences. We then went to Hawaii to shoot additional segments and wanted to bring the O. scyllarus with use to get some footage in "natural aquaria". I applied for a permit and was initially told no. Eventually, with the help of marine biologists at the University of Hawaii, we were given a permit to bring in one male O. scyllarus, but it had to be inspected at the airport on arrival and again when we took it back to Berkeley. (The inspector asked me how to tell if it was a male and not wanting to try to show him the gonopods, I told him that you could tell that it was a male because it was so colorful!)

Roy

Dude....you're awesome!

 

[cobaltplasma]

Dr. Caldwell (and everyone, too!), thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware of how pervasive G. falcatus was and how its impact really affected Hawaii's marine ecology, it's perfectly understandable not wanting to bring in further species that might propagate and further damage the ecosystems here, as you noted N. wennerae might.

Still bummed that I have no mantis, but I'm getting in contact with a few Oahu aquariums to see if they could inquire with their collectors on getting a smasher and shipped over here; still awaiting word back, but it's nice having at least a few venues to pursue, since diving myself would probably be fairly ineffective.

There's a couple of areas around Maui that I still could check for mantis activity, although it seems they're pretty rare around the tidal areas, at least from what I've seen. I haven't gone to Lahaina/Kaanapali yet, so there might be some chance out there on the southwest side of the island.

Heh, that's quite a story, too...I'll tell my wife that one "Oh, you see honey, my mantis is, ah, a female because she's not as colorful as the one Dr. Roy described! "

Again thanks for the reply everyone, always appreciate having a board to discuss this with.

 

[Gonodactylus]

It took several years for G. falcatus to make it to Maui. They are there, but not in the numbers that occur on Oahu. Look for a sandy area in a bay that is almost exposed at low tide and that has scattered pieces of algal covered coral rubble. The fewer the pieces of rubble, the greater the chance that they will contain a stomatopod. A piece of rubble every few feet is just about right. I tend to look at pieces that are from softball to basketball size. Pick them up, turn them around and look for those perfectly round holes.

One of my favorite stomatopods, Odontodactylus brevirostris, does occur on Maui, but usually below 30 feet. They tend to live in holes in the bench or in u-shaped burrows often under the corner of a rock. Some commercial collectors know about it and I occasionally see them for sale.

Good luck.


Roy

 

[cobaltplasma]

Thanks again Dr. Caldwell for your insight I'm going to head out tomorrow since it's my day off and low tide is hitting at about noon-ish, going to try pick up a couple of small flagtails around the Kahului area (maybe look for some mantises too heh) and then head down to Cove Park in Kihei to see if I can find any G.falcatus there. The beaches and tidal areas have really changed over the years, I remember when Naska had a lot more tidal areas that weren't just sand and large rocks. Hopefully I'll turn up something heh. Again, thank you for your insight and input, I do appreciate it greatly.