Frozen Food - Termites

[matcho]

Have been reading this post with interest, once again. So my question(s) are this...

1. Where are the termites coming from?
2. Are they ground or tree termites?
3. Do the gatherers work for the company or are they, to say nothing more, poachers or just some enterprising individuals.?
4. Surely they are not bred commercially? or are they?
5. Does anyone think that if this is a wild harvest there could be ramifications in the long run in regards to nesting places for those that use termite mounds for
nesting and the actual termites for rearing young not to mention the actual place a termite has in the big scheme of things?
6. Mealworms and maggots are different thing to my way of thinking, you can breed them with no impact on the wild population (if ever there was one) and they are grown commercially. Does this promote laziness? I do understand that us city slickers would love them to assist with breeding etc but if you purchase and hope to breed species that are termite dependant then you have to make the effort to gather them the same way I gather greens and seeding grasses at least twice a week. That to me is the price you pay. Any one agree?
7. Would like to know how much weight is in each 700ml container so I can work out how much weight is in each of the boxes of 30-40 containers then might get
a bit of an idea how many nests are being destroyed.

Hope I haven't opened a can of worms, (or white ants). To me everything is a finite resource and once we overstep the boundaries it is too late.

[Pete Sara]

I think they are valid questions , where are they coming from as this could be poaching some elses regular termite run.

Also are they paying to harvest these termites , as are they not illegal to remove from some areas.... pete

[Ripley]

Hello All,

Is this product expensive? I haven't needed to worry too much about live/frozen foods for my birds....but to me, it seemed rather pricey...

I know doubt am wrong, but could someone please elaborate...

Cheers
Ripley

[HARVEY123456789]

keeny66 can you please call 49903297 to order any question please feel free to call guys

[wagga]

Lots of good questions concerning these frozen termites.

I think that these questions should be directed to the owner of the business to answer, so you can get the information first hand.

[kenny66]

keeny66 can you please call 49903297 to order any question please feel free to call guys

thanks for the quick reply and i will call tomorrow

[mickw]

Yep, good questions......and yes, appropriate for the business owner to answer.

Just to put anyone interested in the picture. I am a Forester, working for Forests NSW. In layman's terms I have much the same role as the classic "Ranger", working for National Parks, ie keeping an eye on what goes on within my patch.......but much nicer, and more practical ....PS: Buy more hardwood!

I can tell you categorically that no Public Land Manager (ie, Crown Lands, State Forests....and certainly not National Parks) will provide official permission to collect termites for domestic use......even me! Scientific research would be the only exception, but I have never come across such a request in 20 years on the job. The only other way termites could be collected legally would be as "Stowaways" in timber collected under Section 30(i) of the Forestry Act (1916) which allows you to buy a permit to collect domestic firewood from licenced harvesting areas of State Forest..........It would be difficult to collect lots of termites in this way as the permit is limited to 3 tonne per year but if you take those species of termite home with you, you want to make sure you freeze them solid!....they'll go through you house!

They are definitely considered to be part of the biota in NSW but not always specifically referred to (or cared about) in Acts and Regulations (in NSW) in the same way that plants, animals, birds, fish and reptiles are protected. Likewise, because, there's been no perceived demand or pressure on them, there's no specific permit system to legally collect or protect them......and definietly not in commercial quantities.........Sure, some of us collect what we need and successfully cover our tracks and distribute our impact widely so that it amounts to very little, but I guarantee that the first person to ask for permission will be rejected, and if too many ask (OR GET CAUGHT!) a specific policy will be developed which would close the door for everyone.

I guarantee you that terrestrial mound termites are not cultivated in commercial quantities, they are harvested from the wild

I just thought I'd give some advance warning before a demand developed for commercially collected termites, triggering a policy response from the State!...............What happens on Private land is entirely the owner's choice....but remember that even native plants and animals enjoy state legislated protection.....

Sorry to rain on the party..............

[kenny66]

If i understand your points correctly are you saying that there could be no official approval for them to be sourced naturally and therefore they would be prohibited from sale to another party?

[west finch]

No problem mickw the Japanese can harvest Whales for scientific research and eat what they find after testing . Termites should not be a problem .

[Mortisha]

They could be imported too