Advice Request for Biolumincent Millipede

ErinM31

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I contacted Peter and told him about the development. Perhaps he'll bring them back now that we know they'll at least lay eggs in captivity!
I let him know the good news too! :D I think he plans to return to the area sometime next month, but likely there won't be any Motyxia to be found in the heat of the summer. Hopefully larvae will be easy to find in the fall and hopefully we shall also have captive bred specimens by then! :happy:
 

Tenevanica

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I let him know the good news too! :D I think he plans to return to the area sometime next month, but likely there won't be any Motyxia to be found in the heat of the summer. Hopefully larvae will be easy to find in the fall and hopefully we shall also have captive bred specimens by then! :happy:
Millipedes don't have a larval stage. ;) I'm hoping Hisserdude offers up some of his Motyxia for sale. I plan to order/ trade with him soon.
 

ErinM31

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Millipedes don't have a larval stage. ;) I'm hoping Hisserdude offers up some of his Motyxia for sale. I plan to order/ trade with him soon.
Not technically, no, yet some science papers refer to pedelings as larvae. What is the scientifically correct term for immature Diplopoda anyway? o_O

Cool, I really love these Motyxia and the more people culturing them, the better! :happy: Hehe, if we get these firmly established in the hobby, maybe Peter will collect a second species! :astonished: Yes, I want to collect them all! :playful:
 

Tenevanica

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Not technically, no, yet some science papers refer to pedelings as larvae. What is the scientifically correct term for immature Diplopoda anyway? o_O

Cool, I really love these Motyxia and the more people culturing them, the better! :happy: Hehe, if we get these firmly established in the hobby, maybe Peter will collect a second species! :astonished: Yes, I want to collect them all! :playful:
Juveniles? Immatures? I guess you could call them nymphs because they do shed their skin to grow bigger until they mature, but that's more of an insect term.

I'd love to get my hands on these now that I know they will breed in captivity!
 

Hisserdude

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Awesome! Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing pics of the pedelings! :happy:
No problem, really hope they hatch for me. :)

That's amazing, man! I was really happy for you when I saw the blog post! Perhaps you'd offer up offspring for a cheap price?
Thanks man, I appreciate it! I probably won't be selling any for a generation or two, as I have no idea how high of a survival rate they have in captivity. Will definitely let you know when I have any available though.

I contacted Peter and told him about the development. Perhaps he'll bring them back now that we know they'll at least lay eggs in captivity!
I already told Peter, he says I'm the first to report any eggs so far. :D hopefully others will have similar success soon.
 

ErinM31

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Millipedes don't have a larval stage.
Juveniles? Immatures? I guess you could call them nymphs because they do shed their skin to grow bigger until they mature, but that's more of an insect term.
Being interested in both entomology and etymology, I had to do some searching. ;)

While millipedes, of course, do not have a larval stage, their young have been referred to as "larvae" for a long time, including in scientific literature by authors such as Causey and Loomis and millipede husbandry books by Sigling and Walls. In his handbook on Giant Millipedes, McMonigle alternately uses the terms larva, nymph, and immature. I have not found much recent scientific literature on the life cycles of millipedes, what I have seen used "immature millipede" and McMonigle's more recent book, Millipeds in Captivity uses the term immature exclusively (at least once they are past the initial molts where he may refer to them as 1st or 2nd instars).
 

Tenevanica

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Being interested in both entomology and etymology, I had to do some searching. ;)

While millipedes, of course, do not have a larval stage, their young have been referred to as "larvae" for a long time, including in scientific literature by authors such as Causey and Loomis and millipede husbandry books by Sigling and Walls. In his handbook on Giant Millipedes, McMonigle alternately uses the terms larva, nymph, and immature. I have not found much recent scientific literature on the life cycles of millipedes, what I have seen used "immature millipede" and McMonigle's more recent book, Millipeds in Captivity uses the term immature exclusively (at least once they are past the initial molts where he may refer to them as 1st or 2nd instars).
So there isn't really a technical term for an immature millipede? If I ever write anything scientific on millipedes, they're being called pedelings. End of story. ;)
 

Pipp

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All 10 of mine confirmed dead. I did see a few tunnels, so HOPEFULLY there are eggs. How long does it take for millipede eggs to hatch in general? I'll keep my tank misted just in case, these were the coolest things ever when they were alive.
 

Hisserdude

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All 10 of mine confirmed dead. I did see a few tunnels, so HOPEFULLY there are eggs. How long does it take for millipede eggs to hatch in general? I'll keep my tank misted just in case, these were the coolest things ever when they were alive.
Hopefully they did lay eggs, keep the enclosure moist and as cool as you can!

I think a month or two would be a reasonable expectation of time for them to hatch, maybe longer.
 

ErinM31

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All 10 of mine confirmed dead. I did see a few tunnels, so HOPEFULLY there are eggs. How long does it take for millipede eggs to hatch in general? I'll keep my tank misted just in case, these were the coolest things ever when they were alive.
I'm so sorry to hear that! :( Offhand, I don't know the average time to hatch nor how much variation there is. The Davenport et al. 1952 paper reported that it takes at LEAST two weeks for them to hatch but it could have been up to several months since they didn't check for eggs between May and mid-July.
 

ErinM31

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Based on all that we have seen, I think Motyxia cf. tiemanni really is a short-lived species. @Pipp's may have died the fastest since it sounds like they were at the highest temperature. The lifespan of mine has been, as a group, prolonged, but they are still dying off -- one male right away, two more since (found their bodies today curled up deep in the moss and already falling apart) and have another male who is on his way out. Most of the others still seem perfectly healthy but since it seems I am only delaying the inevitable yet have found no eggs yet and the only reported eggs (@Hisserdude and Davenport et al. 1952) have been at room temperature, I have moved them out of the wine cooler. I thought it best to do so in the morning while the apartment is at its coolest so they can warm up gradually.

I am reminded of lifespan studies done with the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans: With a few exceptions, keeping them at their preferred temperature of 16ºC all the way up to 30ºC does not effect the shape of their lifespan curve, but only changes the time-span over which it takes place
 

Chris52

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I'm really hoping I'll get eggs. I saw the one 'pede I mentioned visiting the same burrow today. Should I check to see if there's anything there?
 

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ErinM31

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I'm really hoping I'll get eggs. I saw the one 'pede I mentioned visiting the same burrow today. Should I check to see if there's anything there?
I would. It shouldn't hurt as long as you're careful. Let us know. :) I haven't found eggs in either the burrow area that the millipedes congregate in nor other areas where they had burrowed a bit into the substrate. :( I hope 70's F will stimulate egg-laying...
 

Chris52

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image.jpeg image.jpeg YES!!!!! I dug a little into the burrow, and sure enough, there was a little clump of eggs!
 

billrogers

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I haven't been part of this discussion and don't even have any of these pedes, but this thread is still super interesting! I hope everyone continues to keep updating this! The only downfall of this thread is that now I want some Motyxia... :p
 

ErinM31

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YES!!!!! I dug a little into the burrow, and sure enough, there was a little clump of eggs!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! :D As @Hisserdude said, hopefully the pedelings have a high survival rate and then, even if they are short-lived as adults, people can maintain colonies of them like other inverts! :)
 

Metastasize

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I found a few clusters of eggs too after doing some digging! So hopefully over the next month or so someone should have babies.
 
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