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New Invertebrate Club in Southern California!


Arthroverts

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Hello all, the new Invertebrate Club of Southern California (ICSC, this will be the name of the club unless otherwise noted) is forming now! All hobbyists who can attend are welcome!

This club will seek to increase the understanding and knowledge of invertebrates of all kinds (roaches, tarantulas, true spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, ants, butterflies, insects of all other kinds, isopods, crabs and other crustaceans, slugs and snails, Echinoderms, Cnidarians, and pretty much all other kinds of invertebrates: Note, this list is not arranged according to how much preference will be placed on discussing the various invertebrate groups above) amongst invertebrate hobbyists as well as the general public. We will have monthly meetings on such subjects as:

(1) The care of certain species propagated in the hobby,

(2) Creating and maintaining habitats, plants, and materials for our creatures,

(3) Discussions on new species entering the hobby,

(4) Discussions on certain aspects of the hobby,

(5) Promoting understanding of the various regulations regarding importing and propagating certain species,

(6) Reviewing invertebrate vendors,

And hopefully, we will be able to host guest speakers to talk on various issues and aspects of this amazing hobby. We would also like to be able to display our own creatures at these meetings, and provide a space to trade and sell our livestock amongst each other.

Some benefits of this club, hopefully, would be:

1. An area where we can get information and help from each other for the creatures within our care.

2. A fun time to collaborate and talk with each other about the invertebrate hobby.

3. Club trips to collecting sites.

4. Importing our own creatures from abroad.

5. Hosting a table at reptile/invertebrate shows and expos where members can sell their livestock.

6. Regular raffles for equipment and animals.

7. Outreaches to the community to educate the public on this incredible area of creation, invertebrates.

8. Make visits to each others homes to view their collections (with consent of the owner of course).

Hopefully this list will get larger in time.

 

Requirements to join the club would be:

1. One must have an interest in invertebrates (obviously), whether just observing them in the wild or keeping them in captivity.

2. One must treat others in the club with respect and honor, even if you disagree with them on certain styles of care, collecting, or handling, and since this is an invertebrate club, religion, politics and other such subjects will not be discussed at all during club functions.

3. You must be in good standing with the invertebrate community, scammers or people who are found to cheat others will be stripped of their membership. Also, people who fight invertebrates against each other, dramatize invertebrates in a way that promotes fear and misunderstanding, or regularly mishandle their animals in a way that is dangerous to themselves or others, will not be allowed to join. Honesty and integrity are expected here.

4. A willingness to participate in club activities and to advance the invertebrate hobby with respect and kindness.

(a note on communication: it would be helpful, if not necessary, to have an Arachnoboards and/or a Roach Forums account and an email address that we can reach you by).

 

This club will be law-abiding in every way possible. We will not illegally import nor take endangered species from the wild without the proper permits.

A yearly entry fee will be discussed at the first meeting, and, if it is decided to be used, it would be reasonable ($20-$30 a year), and the money would be used to purchase raffle prizes, import animals, and rent tables at reptile shows. All members will hold each other accountable when it comes to money and other such things.

 

Our suggested first meeting time is February the 23rd, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM, at IHOP, 7228 Archibald Ave, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701. This would be a sort of planning and get-to-know-each-other meeting, figuring out where we want to go as a club, discuss entry fee (if necessary), and invite local reptile and invertebrate shops to support us. Also, you are encouraged to bring along your livestock to trade, sell, or display (not too many creatures, unless you are making a large trade arranged beforehand, and no highly venomous species please)!

 

Any suggestions, comments, or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

 

Arthroverts

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We've got four people coming from Arachnoboards, any SoCal people from Roach Forum? If you are interested in joining, please send me a PM with your email so I can make an email thread with everyone so we can let each other know what we are bringing for trade/sell.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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@Test Account Yes, on Arachnoboards we have already filled three pages with discussion before the first meeting! Club specific discussion will be carried out via email or on WhatsApp, while questions and comments that can benefit people seeking to join the club will be discussed either on here or on Arachnoboards. If you are interested in joining, please PM me your email so I can add you to the club email thread ASAP.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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  • 2 weeks later...

New email out regarding communication! Please respond when you can. 

In other news, we have got 15 people interested in the club, and its not even February! Let's keep it up! Thank you to everyone for supporting the club and spreading the word!
I am also searching for a guest speaker to come and speak for a portion of our meeting, possibly an entomology professor. If anybody knows a professor or author or renowned keeper/breeder who could come and speak at our meeting, please let me know.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Club Meeting Update:
1. We all (as in everyone who attended the meeting) liked the idea of perhaps doing a group buy from a vendor, so were looking into maybe doing that ahead of this coming meeting.
2. Getting a club table at a reptile show looks like a real possibility sometime in the future.
3. I don't think paying a club membership fee will be necessary; just so long as we all participate and work together on club projects.
4. We have quite a few members with lengthly experience in the invertebrate/reptile hobby, so we may be able to source a guest speaker from within our ranks, as well as from other organizations.
5. Working out our deals in the parking lot of IHOP went smoothly, other than a few stares ;)...
6. Thanks to everyone who wore an invertebrate-related shirt! It sure helped out with us finding complete strangers at IHOP. I am looking into making club T-shirts so we can recognize each other better at meetings and reptile shows.

7. And finally, thank you so much to everyone for getting this club going! I am looking at you @Test Account, @Drteeth, @aoikirin (am I missing anybody?)!

I am thinking March 23rd, 10:00-11:30 AM for the next meeting. It will be closer to LA, and we will see if we can find an invertebrate friendly location.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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  • 3 weeks later...

Alrighty! I called the library but I couldn't speak with an actual person, so I will have to keep trying. I am also looking into getting a collector in the club who canvasses the region for invertebrates to tell us about some of his findings, so we'll see how that goes.

Also, if anyone is interested in the conversations happening on Arachnoboards, the link is http://arachnoboards.com/threads/new-invertebrate-club-in-southern-california.314942/

FYI, I do post more information on the above thread at times because more people use Arachnoboards, just to let y'all know.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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O.K everyone, I couldn't reach the Pasadena Public Library to find out if we could use one of their meeting rooms, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they would charge us to use them. 
Therefore, I propose meeting at the Arlington Garden (Arlington Garden in Pasadena, 275 Arlington Dr, Pasadena, CA 91105). It is friendly to pets (which means that I believe we can bring our creatures if were discreet about it), and it looks like it might even offer some collection opportunities. Everything else is the same (time, date, etc etc), we would just be moving the location; a map of the garden is located at the following link, http://www.arlingtongardenpasadena.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ArlingtonGarden_Map-08-22-top.pdf.
Admission is free and you simply park on the street. There is a slight chance that it might rain, yet everything I've read has suggested that the garden is just as nice in the rain. We would probably all meet at the entrance and then go inside to find seating. I'll bring world famous doughnuts from Donut Man!

Sound good?

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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Hey everyone, so far we have only three people who say they are going to be coming. With such a small group, it may not be worth the time and effort to try and get everything together. Therefore, I am going to say that if we don't have 5+ people coming to a meeting (in this case, the meeting this Saturday), we will just have to cancel it and reschedule for next month. Don't get me wrong, I really, really don't want to cancel, but it is just not worth the time and effort for me and my family to try and get down the hill from the High Desert.

So, is anybody else planning and going to make an effort on coming? If so, please let me know!

 

Thanks,

 

Arthroverts

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O.K, I think we are just going to have to cancel, since we only have three people who say they are going to be coming.

I am really sorry about this everyone, I should have given everyone more notice and planned this meeting a little better. I have been recently swamped with a lot of stuff to take care of, which is why the meeting place was a bit fluid at times, but I will definitely do a better job of making sure everything is in place about a week before the actual meeting next time. Also, I think we should consider meeting bi-monthly (once every two months) with maybe a hike or expo trip on the off months. I will post a poll on that soon.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

The next meeting is going to be on the 18th of this month, around 10:00 AM at the Bug Fair at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. We'll likely meet at the entrance when we get a time hammered out, and then go in together. Looking forward to seeing all who can make it!

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Next meeting set for June 15th, 10:00-11:30 in Redlands; one of our members from Arachnoboards, Chanda, has been kind enough to open her house up to us! Which means I think we can bring invertebrates to this venue ;). More information in the club Google Group.
Also, Joe Rossi (tarantula and true spider vendor/breeder who has been in the hobby for many years and seen a lot of cool species of all sorts of invertebrates) may be able to come and speak at the meeting on some aspects of the hobby, so if you would like to save on shipping and pick up some cool stuff, let either him or me know that you are interested in placing an order for pickup at the meeting.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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  • 2 weeks later...

The meeting is over, and wow! Joe Rossi provided us with some awesome information and showed us some beautiful Ts, Chanda hosted and gave us a tour of her invertebrate room, and we got to meet 3 new members! All around an awesome meeting, thanks again to Chanda and Joe Rossi for helping to make it happen!
I traded for a 5i Phidippus adumbratus with Sloth (one of the new members from Arachnoboards), and picked up some Blaberus giganteus from Chanda. Thank you both! 
We also discussed the new logo, which I will be sharing soon, and we handed out some calendars, which I will also share.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make this meeting happen!

Thanks,

Arthroverts

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