USDA permit for live insects, plus universal Saturnid plant

[kevinkk]

look on Facebook and everybody is raising and shipping species like A. atlas and A. rhodopneuma like it's nothing. I

Interesting, I wish I could stomach face bunk just for the exotics. They are also on Ebay, I see non-native livestock all the time, not long ago, someone was selling Dynastes hercules L2 grubs and an exotic stag species as adults. I haven't had any success raising beetles, so I passed on his hercules larva,but it was tempting. He has since disappeared, presumably busted. What is amazing are some of the prices I see- 125.00 for a "rare" Actias dubernardi cocoon.
But then everything on ebay is a holy grail or rare.
Ebay has issues with implementing policy it seems, I am sure there is a lot of dubious listings that just can't get dealt with. Took me two separate
complaints to get someone's racist t-shirt listing taken down, and that was clear racism, I even got into an argument with the seller. I think a lot of people illegally import, most keep it to themselves, enforcement is probably just overwhelmed, and it's high profile importers, like we have seen
mentioned here that get in trouble, and then there's the money,the little fish aren't worth going after.

[eurytides]

I've been thinking on the subject of permits lately. Are there any US hobbyists (anyone on here?) who actually have permits to import/raise foreign species such as saturniidae? I look on Facebook and everybody is raising and shipping species like A. atlas and A. rhodopneuma like it's nothing. I'm convinced most people have no idea that it is illegal.

I don’t know any of them who have permits. They know it’s not legal. They don’t care.

[eurytides]

The food plant question is really a subjective one. Personally, I don't know if I've ever seen a Sumac tree, anywhere.
For rearing moths at least, here you go- Willow, Oak, Cherry, SweetGum and Privet, those will take you a long way.
Even then, not everyone is correct all the time, I've had recommended foods refused, and I am certain it happens to
other people as well.
Certainly, the research is interesting, and worth reading, it just gets filed away with everything else I come across.

I spoke a number of times with someone that obtained a permit for importing butterflies, I don't recall if he was able to import both sexes, it sounded like a lot of work to me, I do recall way back when I had dreams of exotic moths, that a permit only allowed males in one year, and females another, if it's still that way, I don't know.

I wonder if you could import males in December and females next January and time the eclosions for a mating.

[kevinkk]

I wonder if you could import males in December and females next January and time the eclosions for a mating.

The same thing had occurred to me as well, just to hazard a guess, there is probably some provision preventing you from trying that.