Gorgeous millipedes found on Oahu

LawnShrimp

Arachnoangel
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Dec 9, 2016
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I've seen these in WhatsThatBug posts before but never this many! The purple and white combo is lovely. Do you have any closer pictures of a millipede? I'd like to try and identify at least what family they are in (although they look most like Julids to me).
 

Aquarimax

Arachnoprince
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Mar 1, 2014
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I was only able to find these under opuntia pads that were decaying, so I thought they may be obligate feeders on the decaying cactus pads. They sure are prettty!
3 years on Oahu and I never saw these...but I lived on the rainy and Opuntia-poor windward side. They are very striking! How big were they?
 

Sadie11

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Oct 5, 2017
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Absolutely stunning! Now I'm ready to go back so I can search for these myself. :D
 

Extensionofgreen

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Jun 14, 2017
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I do not have any further photos. They were about 1 1/2”-2” long and about as thick as a tic tac.
 

PanzoN88

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Sep 15, 2014
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I don't venture into this subforum very much, but new discoveries always pique my interest. Very nice find
 

Elytra and Antenna

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It is illegal to collect native Hawaiian invertebrates, however these are an invasive species so they're not protected.
 

Elytra and Antenna

Arachnoking
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Looks a lot like the European Ommatoiulus sabulosus but it's not easy to see the telson or count the segments from the photo.
 

Connectimyrmex

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Oct 17, 2017
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I used to live in Oahu, and those guys were everywhere. At first, I loved the species, but then I started to hate them when they emerged to feed on the tennis court on humid evenings. There once was more than fifty millipedes on the court. The tennis balls would roll about and crush a bunch of them, and they always ended up smelling absolutely terrible. Now that I think of it, I should have kept a few when I lived there.
There's also a beautiful red species thats nearly 2in long. They were also extremely common, but not as common as the stripers (my nickname for the former). I did keep a few, but I ended up getting rid of them when they indirectly killed one of my favorite ant colonies.
 

LawnShrimp

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