# Unusual 'tiger' isopod (Armadillidium vulgare) found in a canyon near my house



## Aquarimax (Jul 25, 2015)

Yesterday, while hiking with the family, I noticed that the abundant pillbugs had a higher incidence of individuals with yellow markings than I uusually see. However, the marking themselves were not particularly unusual. _A. vulgare_ with yellow markings are fairly common:



Then my son found this specimen:



and a short time later we found this one:



I remember reading a thread somewhere about someone finding/breeding individuals of this species with large amounts of yellow. I am going to attempt to breed these (I collected a total of six high-yellow individuals yesterday) and hopefully fix a strain of 'tiger' pillbugs!

Reactions: Like 7


----------



## LythSalicaria (Jul 25, 2015)

I don't usually think of pillbugs as being pretty, but those are gorgeous! 

Hope the breeding attempt goes well.


----------



## mmfh (Jul 25, 2015)

Good luck with that. Those are very pretty. Wouldn't mind owning some


----------



## Aquarimax (Jul 27, 2015)

LythSalicaria said:


> I don't usually think of pillbugs as being pretty, but those are gorgeous!
> 
> Hope the breeding attempt goes well.


Thanks! Hopefully I will have good news eventually!

---------- Post added 07-27-2015 at 06:55 AM ----------




mmfh said:


> Good luck with that. Those are very pretty. Wouldn't mind owning some


Hopefully I will be able to introduce their descendants into the hobby someday! It might take a while to fix the strain, if it is even possible...but I will certainly try!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Tenodera (Jul 28, 2015)

So beautiful! I've always liked the white/yellow-streaked ones but that is on a whole new level.

Also, I enjoy the note that you came across these while hiking with the family. Do you always walk in the back of the pack so you can take the time to catch things too?

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jul 28, 2015)

Tenodera said:


> So beautiful! I've always liked the white/yellow-streaked ones but that is on a whole new level.
> 
> Also, I enjoy the note that you came across these while hiking with the family. Do you always walk in the back of the pack so you can take the time to catch things too?


Lol I always am at the back when hiking with my family, I kneel down for just a tiny bit to look under some rocks and when I get up I have to run to catch up to them again!  

I once produced an A.vulgare with these markings from my colony, the thing was nearly completely yellow! Unfortunately both my A.vulgare colonies mysteriously died out, so I was not able to isolate the color morph.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Aquarimax (Jul 28, 2015)

Tenodera said:


> So beautiful! I've always liked the white/yellow-streaked ones but that is on a whole new level.


I was/am very excited about this find. : ) I am glad you appreciate them.



Tenodera said:


> Also, I enjoy the note that you came across these while hiking with the family. Do you always walk in the back of the pack so you can take the time to catch things too?


I have definitely been known to do that on occasion. : ) Luckily, most of the family is nearly as interested as I am in the inverts, so there is a lot of "Hey, Dad, look what I found!" "Here's one!" and "I caught one for you!"

---------- Post added 07-28-2015 at 03:19 PM ----------




Hisserdude said:


> Lol I always am at the back when hiking with my family, I kneel down for just a tiny bit to look under some rocks and when I get up I have to run to catch up to them again!
> 
> I once produced an A.vulgare with these markings from my colony, the thing was nearly completely yellow! Unfortunately both my A.vulgare colonies mysteriously died out, so I was not able to isolate the color morph.


Did you post the pic of that yellow A. vulgare? If so, I think I remember seeing that post.  Sorry to hear the colonies died out. : ( 
I am going to see if I can persuade the family to visit the canyon again soon...and this time I'll remember a collection container!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jul 28, 2015)

I believe I posted pics on Roachforum or Beetleforum, but I'll post a pic here too, just in case. Yeah, one colony died out, then the other was doing ok until a few weeks ago, then they all just died. Anyway, here is the yellow A.vulgare. It was produced from WC adults with minimal markings.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Aquarimax (Jul 30, 2015)

Hisserdude said:


> I believe I posted pics on Roachforum or Beetleforum, but I'll post a pic here too, just in case. Yeah, one colony died out, then the other was doing ok until a few weeks ago, then they all just died. Anyway, here is the yellow A.vulgare. It was produced from WC adults with minimal markings.
> 
> View attachment 137962


Thanks for sharing the pic! It may have been on roach forum that I saw it. I find it very interesting that adults with minimal markings threw this individual. Maybe a recessive trait?  The patterning is strikingly like the ones I have, so maybe this crops up periodically in the species. 


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk


----------



## cacoseraph (Aug 1, 2015)

maybe an iridovirus?

Reactions: Helpful 1


----------



## Aquarimax (Aug 3, 2015)

cacoseraph said:


> maybe an iridovirus?


The thought crossed my mind...I hope not...


----------



## Aquarimax (Aug 12, 2015)

cacoseraph said:


> maybe an iridovirus?


Your post prompted some research[emoji3]. As far as I can tell, an iridovirus results in blue or purple only, which pervades the entire body. So far, the yellow coloration has not spread. . let's hope!



Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk


----------



## viper69 (Aug 12, 2015)

Never knew they existed beyond grey!! How cool!

A virus changed their color how interesting too.


----------



## Tenevanica (Aug 13, 2015)

If the breeding attempt works, I would buy some of these from you in a heartbeat!


----------



## Aquarimax (Aug 13, 2015)

Tenevanica said:


> If the breeding attempt works, I would buy some of these from you in a heartbeat!


I'll do my best to get these into the hobby. [emoji3] Glad you like them! 


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk


----------



## Hisserdude (Aug 13, 2015)

Unfortunately it will take a long time to see if the young produced from these adults will have the same mature coloration, as these usually take over a year or two to mature, and the immatures will have yellow markings even in drab adults. Hope you can isolate them, and possibly create an all yellow morph!


----------



## Aquarimax (Aug 13, 2015)

Hisserdude said:


> Unfortunately it will take a long time to see if the young produced from these adults will have the same mature coloration, as these usually take over a year or two to mature, and the immatures will have yellow markings even in drab adults. Hope you can isolate them, and possibly create an all yellow morph!


Yep, it will take quite a while, if it works at all...I think I read it took several years of selective breeding before the peach pill bugs became available. I'll see what I can do, though! [emoji2]


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk


----------



## John Galt (Dec 30, 2015)

I have a bunch of these that popped up in my main colony, I was going to isolate them to see if I can breed them as well, was just trying to confirm the species and ran into this post. How is your project coming along?


----------



## Aquarimax (Jan 2, 2016)

John Galt said:


> I have a bunch of these that popped up in my main colony, I was going to isolate them to see if I can breed them as well, was just trying to confirm the species and ran into this post. How is your project coming along?


My high yellows have produced numerous young, though the yellowest individual has yet to produce any. I just moved the group to larger quarters. How many showed up in your colony?


----------



## BobBarley (Jan 2, 2016)

Huh, so this is kind of like selectively breeding isopods?  Like we did with dogs? Cool!


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 4, 2016)

BobBarley said:


> Huh, so this is kind of like selectively breeding isopods?  Like we did with dogs? Cool!


Exactly! It's fun to do in the isopod community because you can get all sorts of weird color morphs and they grow and reproduce very quickly, so you can isolate color morphs within a couple years if you're lucky and keep them well.


----------



## BobBarley (Jan 4, 2016)

pannaking22 said:


> Exactly! It's fun to do in the isopod community because you can get all sorts of weird color morphs and they grow and reproduce very quickly, so you can isolate color morphs within a couple years if you're lucky and keep them well.


Wow, that's really interesting!


----------



## blacksheep998 (Jan 4, 2016)

BobBarley said:


> Huh, so this is kind of like selectively breeding isopods?  Like we did with dogs? Cool!


Yep, I've been doing it myself. I crossed orange and dalmatian Porcellio scaber and got wild-type gray offspring. But I knew both traits were recessive, so I kept them and let them inbreed.

The second generation is also mostly gray, but the orange and dalmatian colors have also reappeared. And a lucky few have inherited both traits, and are orange dalmatians. They've also got red eyes, which is pretty cool.

Reactions: Like 4


----------



## BobBarley (Jan 4, 2016)

blacksheep998 said:


> Yep, I've been doing it myself. I crossed orange and dalmatian Porcellio scaber and got wild-type gray offspring. But I knew both traits were recessive, so I kept them and let them inbreed.
> 
> The second generation is also mostly gray, but the orange and dalmatian colors have also reappeared. And a lucky few have inherited both traits, and are orange dalmatians. They've also got red eyes, which is pretty cool.


Wow, I didn't know isopods could be crossbred like this, thanks!


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 5, 2016)

blacksheep998 said:


> Yep, I've been doing it myself. I crossed orange and dalmatian Porcellio scaber and got wild-type gray offspring. But I knew both traits were recessive, so I kept them and let them inbreed.
> 
> The second generation is also mostly gray, but the orange and dalmatian colors have also reappeared. And a lucky few have inherited both traits, and are orange dalmatians. They've also got red eyes, which is pretty cool.


Really neat to see a color combo like that! It's nice that isopods seem so easy to isolate. And it makes it a lot of fun too!


----------



## BobBarley (Jan 5, 2016)

Hm, so have there been any adverse effects on the isopods that are selectively bred, like some purebred dogs?  I'd guess not, but I'm a bit curious.


----------



## blacksheep998 (Jan 7, 2016)

Any species can suffer from inbreeding problems. 

Just look at the dwarf freshwater shrimp hobby. There have been lots of fancy color breeds developed there who were so frail due to extensive inbreeding that only the super rich could afford the setups required to keep them alive. But those people carefully breed them, select the strongest and breed those, and eventually after a few years they managed to get some stronger ones that the average person can afford to keep.

My orange isopod colony is bred from a single orange female I found in my back yard, so recently I traded some of my oranges for oranges from another person so I can crossbreed them and hopefully prevent any issues from inbreeding.

I'm also pretty sure that my zebra pillbug colony is suffering some inbreeding problems too. Some of them manage to lose their antenna when molting. When I first started out and only had a handful I could easily tell them apart, so I could see it was always the same few. After one molt their antenna would be gone. After the next molt they'd be grown back, but more often than not they'd lose them again next time.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------



## pannaking22 (Jan 7, 2016)

Yup, always nice to bring in new genetic lines from time to time. Helps prevent a lot of problems early on instead of waiting until it could be too late and you're about to lose a whole colony.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


----------



## Aquarimax (Jan 8, 2016)

BobBarley said:


> Huh, so this is kind of like selectively breeding isopods?  Like we did with dogs? Cool!


Exactly! There are several selectively bred color morphs out there already, such as Porcellio scaber 'orange', 'Dalmatian', and 'Calico'; Armadidillium nasatum 'Peach'... here are some photos:

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## BobBarley (Jan 8, 2016)

Wow, thanks guys!


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 9, 2016)

I got this unusual Cylisticus convexus morph that I am calling "Pied". They resemble pied ball pythons, they are different than the "Dalmatian" morph found in other isopods. There are some pure white ones as well, several morphs could probably be isolated from this bloodline.

Here are some pictures, (They are mixed in with normal ones in the pics):

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## Aquarimax (Jan 14, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> I got this unusual Cylisticus convexus morph that I am calling "Pied". They resemble pied ball pythons, they are different than the "Dalmatian" morph found in other isopods. There are some pure white ones as well, several morphs could probably be isolated from this bloodline.
> 
> Here are some pictures, (They are mixed in with normal ones in the pics):


I've heard of this morph in C. convexus before, but I'd never seen pictures. It's a cool effect! I see what you mean... not the same as the Dalmatian morph. Pied is a good term for it.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 14, 2016)

Yeah, it's a cool morph. It unusual because I caught the original stock, and they all looked normal. Then after a few generations these guys started showing up. Weird huh? I just got around to isolating them a few months ago and they have started reproducing. Hopefully most of the offspring will look like their parents.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## blacksheep998 (Jan 15, 2016)

Hisserdude said:


> Yeah, it's a cool morph. It unusual because I caught the original stock, and they all looked normal. Then after a few generations these guys started showing up. Weird huh?


Not weird at all if it's a single-gene recessive trait like the orange and dalmatian genes are P. scaber. That's exactly what I'd expect to happen. You might have only had a single one carrying the gene, but it passed it on to some of it's offspring and then two of those got together and that's when you finally saw the trait appear.

Even better, if this is the case then now that they're isolated they should breed true and all their offspring should also have the pied pattern. (Eventually anyway. If you just isolated them then some of the females are probably still carrying sperm from the normal males so might keep popping out some wild-type offspring for awhile)

Edit:

I'd also like to add that I suspect your pied individuals have a novel mutation to the same gene that the dalmatian P. scaber do.

In P. scaber and most other isopods, the wild coloration is produced via a 2 step process. The first step produces an orange pigment, and the second one produces something that turns that orange pigment gray-brown in color.

Each of these steps is controlled independently by separate genes, and in each case having one normally functioning copy of the gene is enough for normal function. So the mutant forms of the genes are recessive to the wild type.

But when they have 2 mutant copies of one of those genes we see interesting effects.

The orange P. scaber have 2 mutant copies of the second gene, the one that turns the orange pigment to gray. So they still produce the orange pigment, but can't turn it into a gray one and are orange as a result.

The mutant gene that causes the dalmatian trait effects their ability to produce the orange pigment. It doesn't shut it down entirely, but it makes it be produced only in patches. The regular dalmatians still have normally functioning copies of the second gene though, so that orange pigment is turned gray and they're white with gray spots.

My orange dalmatians have two mutant copies of both genes. So they only produce the orange pigment in patches, and cannot turn it gray. This results in orange spots.

As I said above, I think your pied isopods have a mutation to the same gene as the dalmatians. But it's a different mutation that is resulting in a different pattern.

It's very cool, and I'm really looking forward to when you have them available for sale.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 2


----------



## Hisserdude (Jan 15, 2016)

blacksheep998 said:


> Not weird at all if it's a single-gene recessive trait like the orange and dalmatian genes are P. scaber. That's exactly what I'd expect to happen. You might have only had a single one carrying the gene, but it passed it on to some of it's offspring and then two of those got together and that's when you finally saw the trait appear.
> 
> Even better, if this is the case then now that they're isolated they should breed true and all their offspring should also have the pied pattern. (Eventually anyway. If you just isolated them then some of the females are probably still carrying sperm from the normal males so might keep popping out some wild-type offspring for awhile)
> 
> ...


Interesting, I don't know that much about genes so I thought it was unusual that I started with normal looking ones and ended up with these. Thank you very much for explaining it all to me! 

Yes I expect some of the offspring will be normal ones for a while, I will be culling them out when I see them.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it too!


----------



## Aquarimax (Jan 15, 2016)

blacksheep998 said:


> The mutant gene that causes the dalmatian trait effects their ability to produce the orange pigment. It doesn't shut it down entirely, but it makes it be produced only in patches.
> 
> It's very cool, and I'm really looking forward to when you have them available for sale.


I wonder if this mutation is a form of leucism in which pigment is produced, but the mechanism for distributing the pigment is faulty. Our local zoo had a leucistic alligator on exhibit for a while. He was white with small irregular spots of normal coloration, rather like a Dalmatian isopod. 

In any case, it IS very cool. : )

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Spidercreations (Jan 19, 2016)

I have not found any super cool color morphs but its cool to find the canyon sow bugs I heard they can get up to 20mm and I find some awesome powdered blue sow bugs there awesome


----------



## Aquarimax (Oct 12, 2017)

Aquarimax said:


> Yesterday, while hiking with the family, I noticed that the abundant pillbugs had a higher incidence of individuals with yellow markings than I uusually see. However, the marking themselves were not particularly unusual. _A. vulgare_ with yellow markings are fairly common:
> View attachment 137902
> 
> 
> ...


Over two years have passed, and it looks like the wait may he paying off! It is too early to be certain, as young A. vulgare tend to be patterned and can then change...but I finally have some individuals that seem to be following in the footsteps of the founding isopod in my avatar, at least in terms of patterning and coverage. Color may come as they mature. Time will tell!

Reactions: Like 1 | Love 1


----------



## Salmonsaladsandwich (Oct 12, 2017)

I think I read somewhere that the yellow spots on A. vulgare are caused by calcium deposits.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Aquarimax (Oct 12, 2017)

Salmonsaladsandwich said:


> I think I read somewhere that the yellow spots on A. vulgare are caused by calcium deposits.


Interesting, I will have to look that up!


----------



## LittleOddIsopod (Dec 24, 2017)

Any luck with isolating this awesome trait? My isopod business and website will be up and going by early 2018, and I would love to purchase some of these! 

Check out my other post to enter our businesses name competition!


----------



## Aquarimax (Dec 25, 2017)

I have had some success, I have produced some individuals with markings similar to the isopod in my avatar! I just need to produce them in saleable numbers now. Soon I will be posting a video showing some of the specimens I have produced.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Coolherper (Dec 29, 2017)

This is really interesting!! Thanks for sharing the process


----------



## Aquarimax (Dec 29, 2017)

Here is the video update on this isopod project, I’m pretty excited!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## LawnShrimp (Dec 29, 2017)

Nice progress!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## LittleOddIsopod (Dec 30, 2017)

Aquarimax said:


> I have had some success, I have produced some individuals with markings similar to the isopod in my avatar! I just need to produce them in saleable numbers now. Soon I will be posting a video showing some of the specimens I have produced.


Very interesting! Please do send me the video link when it’s completed.


----------



## Aquarimax (Dec 30, 2017)

LawnShrimp said:


> Nice progress!


Thank you! I hope they’ll produce lots of young for me.


----------



## Aquarimax (Dec 30, 2017)

LittleOddIsopod said:


> Very interesting! Please do send me the video link when it’s completed.


Sure! Here is the link:


----------

