# Narceus americanus



## m4illi17 (Jun 17, 2009)

Exactly what states can Narceus americanus be found in?
I know it is in the Eastern United States but how far west can they be found?


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## millipeter (Jun 17, 2009)

The eastern range is from Quebec to Florida and the western range from Illinois to Texas.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 17, 2009)

well I live in Illinois and I have NEVER seen one before....we just have little black/ brown ones that are less than an inch long... :wall:


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## Galapoheros (Jun 18, 2009)

millipeter said:


> The eastern range is from Quebec to Florida and the western range from Illinois to Texas.


Do you know how far west in tx they go millipeter?


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## ranchulas (Jun 18, 2009)

Galapoheros said:


> Do you know how far west in tx they go millipeter?


I live in Tyler and they can be found everywhere. I know Drachenjager finds them in the Fairfield area as well. My guess is that they stay in the forested areas of Texas. I wouldn't expect to find them much further west than west of I-45?????


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## Galapoheros (Jun 18, 2009)

It's just that I've seen a millipede around Presidio ....WAAAYYY out there in the desert that is colored kinda like Narceus americanus, not the same as the lighter, yellowish looking ones out there everywhere in w tx.  Anyway, not sure what it is:? .  I find Narceus americanus in Austin too but they aren't that common around here, "I" haven't found many in the hill country anyway.


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## ranchulas (Jun 18, 2009)

Galapoheros said:


> It's just that I've seen a millipede around Presidio ....WAAAYYY out there in the desert that is colored kinda like Narceus americanus, not the same as the lighter, yellowish looking ones out there everywhere in w tx.  Anyway, not sure what it is:? .  I find Narceus americanus in Austin too but they aren't that common around here, "I" haven't found many in the hill country anyway.


What don't you find in the Austin area? Seems to be a nice place to collect due to its central location. I need to get down there and see my family. I have a cousin that has 100 acres on the San Gabriel river in the George Town area. I'll let you know when I come down this summer and we can go collect together.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 18, 2009)

I'm sorry but can we get back to discussing the ILLINOIS issues?....haha


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## RoachGirlRen (Jun 18, 2009)

Well, where and how have you been searching? That might help folks give some tips on successful "hunts."


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## m4illi17 (Jun 18, 2009)

Well I have a forest next to my house and I've been looking in there mostly.  I basically just lift up anything on the ground: rocks, dead pieces of wood, etc. I don't know where else I should be looking.  But I assumed that's where they would hide.  I still don't even know if they live in my area, but I still keep looking. 

Any suggestions?


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## texasroach (Jun 18, 2009)

I find them under large fallen logs


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## RoachGirlRen (Jun 18, 2009)

Is the forest near your house deciduous or coniferous? They're rarely found in conifer forests since their primary diet is deciduous leaf mulch and rotting hard wood. Leaf litter and rotting wood are generally the best place to find them (IME), but you'll have much better luck if you head out at night after a good rain with a flashlight; they'll often be climbing about on the surface. During the day they're often dug down into the organic layer a ways, which can make finding them tricky.


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## Nomadinexile (Jun 18, 2009)

*Austin and the yellow stripe from desert.*

Hey, We have N.A.'s in Austin, but I have only seen a handful of them as well.  I saw them more in the spring and often had to move them off the trail.  The one mentioned that is yellow striped, has a reddish head, is an O. ornata or O. ornatus, sorry forget which.   And that is not confirmed.  They are in the Chihuahuan desert though, so I assume I am correct.  I have a few at the house.  I have some pics, but I have a heck of a time loading them here, so after I am done here I will put pics up on my photo bucket.  There is another one I have pics of that I don't know what it is.  Got it in Chihuahuan desert as well.  It is smaller only getting about 4 inches.  It is black and silver/cream depending on the light.  Hope this was helpful.  Peace, Ryan


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## Galapoheros (Jun 18, 2009)

Hi m4illi17, I couldn't give you a better way to look for them than roachgirlren gave you.  I usually see them under rotting logs.  It's one of those things, you can look for them for months in an area, give up, then you start looking for something else under a log and you see 3 millipedes you gave up on!!  I think spring is the best time to look.  As for the w tx pede I was wondering about, here it is.  It almost looks black but it's really a very dark maroon with red legs.  I thought it might be a form of N. americanus but I'm not thinking that so much anymore, don't know what it is.  Somebody does, they are common, not so common as ornatus.  I have some of the shorter black ones too, can't remember the name.


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 18, 2009)

Christ on a cracker, that milli' huge!  Have you been feeding it TX BBQ?  Didn't know they got to that length down there.


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## Galapoheros (Jun 19, 2009)

Haha, "Christ on a cracker"...  others get bigger and fatter and they are all over the place out there, some mornings in spring and summer you can't help but run over them on the road there are so many.


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## millipeter (Jun 19, 2009)

There are two other species of the genus Orthoporus in Texas except O. ornatus. It's O. flavior (Trans-Pecos) and O. texicolens (coastal plains). I will look up the next days for the descriptions of these two species. Maybe one fits well on your black one.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 19, 2009)

So I just got back inside from searching out in the forest. (and yes it is deciduous.) 

It just got done raining, and while I found plenty of other types of millipedes, I could not find this particular one.  I may be coming to the conclusion that they don't live around here.  I'm tempted just to buy some online, but if they're so close to where I live, then I don't wanna pay for them. But I can't find them anywhere....:wall: 

Anybody have suggestion?....or cheap Narceus americanus for me to buy?


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## Moltar (Jun 19, 2009)

The last time I camped in West Virginia one of these guys snuck into my tent and took turns waking me and my friend up by crawling on us in our sleep. I have to credit my buddy Will (who is NOT a bug person) for his exceptional intestinal fortitude in not crapping himself when woken up by a 6" millipede crawling on his face. It was by far the biggest N americanus i've ever seen.

I took pics but they're still on my camera.


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## Galapoheros (Jun 19, 2009)

It's normal not to find what you are looking for very fast.  I remember when I was 10, I always wanted to find a salamander.  I forgot about it and spent hours in the woods turning over logs looking for bug stuff.  Then 2 years later, around 12 years old, I found a Smallmouth salamander under a log, I couldn't believe it, I had been searching the area for 2 years for "anything", never seeing one and they were there the whole time.  Also, in Bryan Tx, I had been keeping an eye our for milk snakes for 20 years until I saw one under some trash.  I guess in your case, I'd buy a couple to satisfy having some, then go look for stuff now and then for fun, eventually you will find things you're interested in.


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## RoachGirlRen (Jun 20, 2009)

I went on numerous very unsucessful N. americanus hunts before collecting the individuals in my current small colony. It seems to be feast or famine with them; I'll go weeks without seeing any, then all of a sudden they're EVERYWHERE. Remain patient and consider exploring some places outside of your immediate area.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 20, 2009)

yah.

I have a gut feeling that there aren't as many in Northern Illinois as I hoped.  I may travel around a bit to find some.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 23, 2009)

Is anyone selling any Narceus americanus?  I would like to buy some right now...but I can't find any in the usual places.  Anyone know of anywhere, or is anyone selling any?


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## RoachGirlRen (Jun 23, 2009)

http://www.bugsincyberspace.com sells albino N. americanus, and two related species of the same genus. It is very hard to find people breeding non-albino N. americanus because most folks just capture them, making breeding unprofitable. I started a colony to hopefully offer CB specimens (I don't really care if I make money) but they were only recently collected and have not produced yet.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 23, 2009)

Yah I know what you mean.  I would like to be able to just capture them myself, but I've NEVER seen one around...as you may have seen from earlier in the post...haha.  

I tried bugs in cyberspace but a window popped up saying that it was a fraudulent website, so I don't know what to do about that.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 23, 2009)

ok nevermind... my computer must have been acting up.  It says the websites fine.  

I would like to buy 5 though, and shipping is a lot......and if it's AT ALL possible to just find them somewhere in the US, then I don't want to pay over $50 right now, but I may have to.


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## Kimix (Jun 24, 2009)

m4illi17 - Your from Northern IL right..   Start checking the Dupage County Reptile Swap. http://www.allanimalexpo.com/

I know they had Ivory milllies, Ghana Red banded, the kind that Galapoheros posted from texas, I picked up a Flat Millipede, and I think there was at least one more species there on Sunday. 

Even if N. americanus isnt for sale, You can probably find a vendor that would be able to get some for you, and allow you to bypass paying the shipping.


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## pouchedrat (Jun 24, 2009)

Check your PM's m4illi17, I sent you a link to a person who sells them.


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## m4illi17 (Jun 25, 2009)

Are 5 Narceus annularis enough to start a colony?


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## m4illi17 (Jun 27, 2009)

ok, so I just ordered the millipedes, and I had a few more questions.

First of all, they're native to this area of the US.  Would it be ok for me to just go outside and gets some leaves and wood out of a forest to put in the cage, or do I need to get some commercial stuff?

Second, what can I use for the bedding?  I know they probably will burrow a lot.

thanks


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## RoachGirlRen (Jun 28, 2009)

Substrate should be organic soil, coconut fiber, peat, or a mixture thereof. They will prefer several inches for burrowing. You may harvest local/native hardwood and hardwood leaves to feed your millipedes (oak is one of the preferred species due to high chitin content), but steer clear of softwoods & their needles. It may be a good idea to rinse and freeze outdoor items before placing it in the tank to kill any potential pests; since they are native, it is both easy to provide a natural diet _and_ easy to introduce natural predators/pests/diseases.


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