Flameleg Flame Leg Millipede Trigoniulus macropygus Philippines Negros Island Pede Central

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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I have this species and they are:

1) Sometimes confused with centipedes by the layman "mt. manabo_centipede along the trail" because this species is very fast in good temperatures, very nimble, and very colorful. It certainly has an aggressive look.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40037595@N00/93494292/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32291554@N08/3120171516/in/pool-405546@N25/

2) Defensive, they will produce defensive excretions but the excretions are less potent than the ladybug smell. One of mine looked like the back legs were not functioning, but it was wiping its excretions from its bottom to my hand. From what I can tell, they don't even stain, but certain individuals are prone to releasing it.

3) Common on "several Philippine islands, most notably Negros island". They are supposed to breed well in captivity as long as plenty of forest matter is provided. They almost ignore vegetables and fruits in my care, preferring to feed on rotting wood and leaves. They need humidity above 90% and temps around 24 C, or 75 F being ideal.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?169653-Negros-millipede&highlight=flameleg
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...-Pedes-ID-pls.&highlight=philippine+millipede

4) Do carry natural mites, but the mites easily fall off.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...-my-FireLeg-Millipede..&highlight=Trigoniulus

5) have a very glossy body which reaches 14cm or 5-6 inches.

Flameleg Pedes.jpg DSCN0138.jpg

6) Takes over a week to molt. About 5-6 to actually shed the old skin, and then 3-5 to get moving again.

DSCN0118 (2).jpg

7) The gonopods in the male are hidden, like in this photo (not mine)



8) The red striped version can be purchased through Ken the Bug Guy: http://www.kenthebugguy.com/pet-mil...g-millipede-sub-adult-awesome-millipedes.html
Black body version (brilliant legs according to two accounts http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho.....Find...this...millipede!&highlight=flameleg) at Bugs in Cyberspace: http://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/Flameleg-Millipede-Trigoniulus-macropygus-bic509.htm
These must be different species or something. I would assume that BIG's millipede breeds more easily but I have nothing with which to back this up.

I will update this post when I find out more. If you have any information or pictures to add, please post.
 
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Elytra and Antenna

Arachnoking
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8)They're both the same stock. The red stripes are found in older specimens and are more or less notable according to the lighting and flash of the camera. Look a little closer at the BIC photo and you'll see the bands are quite obvious in the bottom specimen.
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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8)They're both the same stock. The red stripes are found in older specimens and are more or less notable according to the lighting and flash of the camera. Look a little closer at the BIC photo and you'll see the bands are quite obvious in the bottom specimen.
You are mistaken. Please see quotes below:

dont think so, i got one of those from Peter at BICS and definitely a black pede... may be a color variant, or a very similar species though! The legs on the ones at BICS are very bright, but the body is definitely black.

Check out the coloration on the body of the one in the pic! Just outstanding!
Definitely not flamelegs (I have some) as they're solid (editing: ok not SOLID, but nowhere near extent of color of the above picture) black with the colorful legs.
As obvious in the picture, flash was used and the two pedes had different coloration, one with more mahogany than the other. The red stripped variety has stunning red bands with such lighting, and when curled like that, the white of the flesh (I assume) shows, so you have a black, red, white pede. Those pedes also look chunkier than the meaner looking variety I have.

In conclusion, they are not the same. Take if from someone who has one of the variants and has looked extensively at the photo of the other. Maybe some day I'll get the other one and compare them side by side.
 
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MrCrackerpants

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I have some from bugsincyberspace and they are doing great. I got them as babies and they are about to reproduce.
 

zonbonzovi

Creeping beneath you
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SDCP, "Kodak taxonomy" is quite unreliable & millipedes can look quite different at different development stages. Determining species of myriapod via color can be very confusing and is not recommended.

Still, thanks for the photos...very beautiful animals. I am very unlucky when it comes to seeing my myriapods molt so I always appreciate a good pic.
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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SDCP, "Kodak taxonomy" is quite unreliable & millipedes can look quite different at different development stages. Determining species of myriapod via color can be very confusing and is not recommended.

Still, thanks for the photos...very beautiful animals. I am very unlucky when it comes to seeing my myriapods molt so I always appreciate a good pic.
I have 1 photograph of the "other" specimen, and 2 commentaries from owners of them to compare to mine and the redder ones. I've researched this extensively and posted all the links. Look at them...I don't see how you can argue with that.

They might be the same species, like Florida ebony vs. ivory. This is not the issue. The point is for hobbyists, do you wan a blacker or redder color variant? I think there are even brighter reds than Ken's stock! Mine look blackish until lit up with flashlight or flash. My pedes are under normal light in the photos (molting one does not count for true color you know) but under LED or flash they have MUCH more brilliant red rings than do the pedes in Peter's (Bugs in Cyberspace) FLASH photo.

I am not determining species by photo. I am saying the pedes being offered by the respective vendors are different if only slightly.

Here is a photo of what might be more like Peter's specimens, looks like without flash:



Here is one of the reddest ones I've seen, looks like without flash or with a similar degree of lighting as the first:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32291554@N08/3120171516/in/pool-405546@N25/

I see a difference. A color variation I suppose. So from Peter you get blacker, from Ken you get redder. That's all I'm saying. BUT YES, THE TESTIMONY OF THOSE WHO OWN PETER'S PEDES SAY MORE THAN THE PHOTOS. Read them.

They're the same bloodline, same stock.
How do you know that? Did you provide the pedes to both suppliers :confused:
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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I have some from bugsincyberspace and they are doing great. I got them as babies and they are about to reproduce.
Is there anyway you could provide pictures of your pedes? Maybe we could get some more information regarding the color variants and who is selling which one (both might have gone through either vendors) from the valuable information you have to offer!

The more info the better. I'm sorry my reply was heated E&A, Z, but it looked as if you did not check out the "evidence" I used to back up my claim, and contradicting my conclusion without offering any sort of evidence to the contrary save assertions made me a little unhappy. But I admit I was in the wrong...we're just talking about a silly millipede.

Thanks
 

Bugs In Cyberspace

Arachnodemon
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I would have attributed apparent color differences to ages of the specimens, lighting and camera flash, however E&A is really the authority on the captive production of this species in the US.

A simple and interesting conclusion to this discussion could be had by simply asking Ken where he got his stock. I suspect his source probably traces back to the same captive bred US bloodline as the ones sold through my site, since nobody imports millipedes anymore.

I like the photos and discussion and would personally like to learn whether there are two color forms floating around the hobby. I'll also add that this is my personal favorite species in the millipede hobby for beauty and ease of reproduction, as well as accessibility.

E&A took the picture on my site ;-)
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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I doubt the conclusion to the whole matter would be asking Ken where he got his stock, but it seems there are color variants whether from genes (as the common American pedes or the Thai rainbow pedes...or even the florida ivory/ebony pedes) or age/conditions. I have a feeling that genetics could play a major role though.

Here is a little variation amongst predominantly black pedes:



But please, E & A, post some more pics, tell me more...you breed these? Where do you send them? How do you breed them? How many babies do they have? How big do the pedes get? How long to maturity?

I already saw mine mating, doesn't necessarily mean eggs are on the way, but it's a good sign.

---------- Post added 02-25-2012 at 10:15 PM ----------

But look at the pic and the link in post 7. One pede has thin mohagany bands. The other has thick red bands. Maybe there are thin/thick banded varieties :p
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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Ken doesn't know for sure where they originated:
I actually don't know the original source as I traded them with a hobbyist that got them from a guy that captive bred them....
 

Camden

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i might be just getting confused or not reading it right...but i'm not sure how one could confuse this with a centipede. i mean i've seen people who have never seen a millipede or centipede call one the other, but if you've seen the two, you can tell that they are really obviously two different inverts. it's kinda like looking at a cockroach and saying "Hey! A crab!"
 

ScarecrowGirl

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I should take a picture of the pesticide can at work that has a picture of a centipede labeled as a millipede...

I'm just going to put my .02 in here. Say flame-leg all hail from the same stock as stated above, but over time say these stocks have been separated spread out and bred, maybe different color varieties are developing from the separated stock one color trait being stronger in one, weaker in the other. In a few hundred years say the stocks have been kept separate and bred for so long, they could all probably count as different species. Like the squirrels on either side of the grand canyon, at one point they were the same species but now they count as 2 different species.

I dont know really much about these little guy honestly but I do want to get a few eventually, they are very attractive and I'm always game for new additions to my personal zoo.
 

MrCrackerpants

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Is there anyway you could provide pictures of your pedes? Maybe we could get some more information regarding the color variants and who is selling which one (both might have gone through either vendors) from the valuable information you have to offer!

The more info the better. I'm sorry my reply was heated E&A, Z, but it looked as if you did not check out the "evidence" I used to back up my claim, and contradicting my conclusion without offering any sort of evidence to the contrary save assertions made me a little unhappy. But I admit I was in the wrong...we're just talking about a silly millipede.

Thanks
I can take some pictures and post them when I get some time. What specifically are you trying to find out?
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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I should take a picture of the pesticide can at work that has a picture of a centipede labeled as a millipede...

I'm just going to put my .02 in here. Say flame-leg all hail from the same stock as stated above, but over time say these stocks have been separated spread out and bred, maybe different color varieties are developing from the separated stock one color trait being stronger in one, weaker in the other. In a few hundred years say the stocks have been kept separate and bred for so long, they could all probably count as different species. Like the squirrels on either side of the grand canyon, at one point they were the same species but now they count as 2 different species.

I dont know really much about these little guy honestly but I do want to get a few eventually, they are very attractive and I'm always game for new additions to my personal zoo.
EDIT: Yes, please post a picture of that, LOL! Although it is a pesticide company, I wouldn't chastise the designer of the can because I couldn't tell a poodle from a....well, maybe I could pick out a poodle. Let's just say I would have no idea what some of those common European dog breeds were, and some people probably value knowing dog breeds more than the difference between a centipede and a millipede :shrug:

As you can see from post #7, that "black" millipede was photographed "in situ" or in natural environment. The first two links in post one were also taken in the natural environment. Basically this kind of millipede seems to have two principle color forms. There are more photos of black pedes, and more of red also, all from wild caught individuals. I've posted all the links so go check it out :)

I think the evidence favors a "seperate color form" interpretation more than a "color form shift in culture" interpretation. But you are entitled to your very own view :D

I can take some pictures and post them when I get some time. What specifically are you trying to find out?
We're basically trying to see if your pedes (which you got from Peter you said) are almost totally black or if they have red rings. Could you take a few, one without flash, one with maybe? We (IDK maybe its just me :p) just want to see the general color.

Thank you so much :geek:
 
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MrCrackerpants

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EDIT: Yes, please post a picture of that, LOL! Although it is a pesticide company, I wouldn't chastise the designer of the can because I couldn't tell a poodle from a....well, maybe I could pick out a poodle. Let's just say I would have no idea what some of those common European dog breeds were, and some people probably value knowing dog breeds more than the difference between a centipede and a millipede :shrug:

As you can see from post #7, that "black" millipede was photographed "in situ" or in natural environment. The first two links in post one were also taken in the natural environment. Basically this kind of millipede seems to have two principle color forms. There are more photos of black pedes, and more of red also, all from wild caught individuals. I've posted all the links so go check it out :)

I think the evidence favors a "seperate color form" interpretation more than a "color form shift in culture" interpretation. But you are entitled to your very own view :D



We're basically trying to see if your pedes (which you got from Peter you said) are almost totally black or if they have red rings. Could you take a few, one without flash, one with maybe? We (IDK maybe its just me :p) just want to see the general color.

Thank you so much :geek:
I bought mine from Peter but some of the millipedes I bought from Peter came from E&A and not Peter directly. I am not sure which ones came from Peter or Orin. Maybe Peter remembers. I will look and see if they have red rings. It will take awhile to get pictures as I am swamped with work. On a side note, when I turn the lights off they glow bright neon red. Do yours do this?
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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When I turn the lights off they glow bright neon red. Do yours do this?
LOL! If that was true I would have heard about it from someone else by now.

It seems Peter sells pedes bred by E and A, so it doesn't really matter, as E and A said, they're "from the same bloodline!"
 

MrCrackerpants

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LOL! If that was true I would have heard about it from someone else by now.

It seems Peter sells pedes bred by E and A, so it doesn't really matter, as E and A said, they're "from the same bloodline!"
: ) Should I still check?
 

SDCPs

Arachnolord
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Yeah! We (I) need some evidence to either support or refute our (my) hypothesis ;)
 
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