Shipping Hornworm eggs to Ireland

[enigmacell]

Would anybody be able to post me some Hornworm eggs here in Ireland? They are so popular in America but I can't get any here. I'll pay to have them sent by fedex or something so they survive the trip.

 

[Dave]

You're gonna be hard pressed to get eggs there before they hatch. Hornworm eggs hatch 6-10 days after shipment.

 

[laurie]

Would anybody be able to post me some Hornworm eggs here in Ireland? They are so popular in America but I can't get any here. I'll pay to have them sent by fedex or something so they survive the trip.

You're gonna be hard pressed to get eggs there before they hatch. Hornworm eggs hatch 6-10 days after shipment.

Ok let's try to work with this enigmacell send a pm with your address to Dave. Dave get a quote on overnight and 2 day to Ireland. If you send a good amount it might be worth it.

 

[enigmacell]

Pm sent

 

[pssh]

Is it even legal to have them in Ireland?

 

[Jbujarski]

Is it even legal to have them in Ireland?

thats what I was thinking. I feel like they could potentially cause problems if they accidentally got out

 

[enigmacell]

Would they not die in the Irish climate if they got out? Our summers don't be like British ones lol.

 

[enigmacell]

Would silkworms not pose the same threat? They are sometime available. Does anyone know where I could find out what insects are legal and which aren't? All the US livefood sellers that have replied to me have just said they wouldn't survive the trip. I could understand a law banning a pest from a cool climate to a warmer one could end up exploding into a plague but the other way round surely wouldn't pose a threat?

 

[JackP308]

thats what I was thinking. I feel like they could potentially cause problems if they accidentally got out

lol, they do a number on my tomatoes. I think your ok ordering them if you can find a seller and shipper.

 

[pssh]

Hornworm pupae dig into the ground for the winter so they could potentially survive unless the ground was frozen at least a foot or two down. Silkworms are completely domesticated and can no longer survive in the wild if released, unlike hornworms.

 

[enigmacell]

[/QUOTE]lol, they do a number on my tomatoes. I think your ok ordering them if you can find a seller and shipper.[/QUOTE]

Ha ha, just post me your infected tomatoes lol

 

[enigmacell]

lol, they do a number on my tomatoes. I think your ok ordering them if you can find a seller and shipper.

lol just send me on your infected tomatoes lol.

 

[Miss Lily]

I have been keeping chameleons for 4 years and have never seen hornworms available in the UK. They are considered pests and are illegal over here. In much the same way, those US keepers cannot buy locusts as feeders either.

 

[enigmacell]

How do you know they are actually illegal?

 

[Miss Lily]

I read it on here ages ago, probably when I asked about getting them myself. They also eat tomato plant leaves, which are toxic to chameleons. Last I heard there was no supplier of hornworms at all in Europe, so wherever you get them from you would need to order plenty of chow too. I gave up looking for them in the end. If they were available over here, then I would have tried them by now.

 

[enigmacell]

I've almost given up myself, have silkworms coming instead. Going to try the fella in France as soon as I can get my Mam to translate and send him an email. My french isn't that good. His website looks like it wasn't updated since 2010 though

 

[DanSB]

If I am not mistaken Ireland could very easily have different regulations than the UK regarding importing hornworms.

I did a little digging and if this isn't the agency that regulates such things you could phone them and I'm sure they could tell you who does:

http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/

Unless the bureaucrats are even worse in Ireland than they are in the US I'm sure with patience you will eventually get your answers from them.

On another note make sure to use the scientific name: "Manduca quinquemaculata" otherwise there will only be confusion.

If the answer is what everyone here suspects (it is not legal) there is likely to be a native moth species in your area that has similar larval stages.

Hope that helps!

 

[drcrossfire]

Hornworm pupae dig into the ground for the winter so they could potentially survive unless the ground was frozen at least a foot or two down. Silkworms are completely domesticated and can no longer survive in the wild if released, unlike hornworms.

the pupae would probably be the easiest thing to send- if you are willing to breed moths, this is probably the best option for shipping.

 

[enigmacell]

Thanks for all the advice and info peeps I will chase this up and let you know of the outcome as soon as I hear anything back. Hopefully it'll be good news for us irish!!

 

[enigmacell]

Great news!!!

Well good news people. I ordered some Hornworms and a week and a few days in customs they finnaly arrived. I ordered 100 eggs and 40 live Hornworms. The eggs hatched in transit (only takes 2 days to hatch) and they unfortunetly all died. However 36 of the live Hornworms made it and look great!!

I am going to try and breed these so anyone in Ireland interested send me a PM. Its cost me an arm and a leg to get these so far so I am not going to post to the UK for now.