How to Find Isopods

[blacksheep998]

What are isopods going to do to millipedes? As long as you don't have a swarm of them and feed them adequately, isopods will not do as much as nibble on dead organisms.

I do have swarms of them and sometimes toss them injured bugs, such as a roach that got into my house once and I smacked but didn't kill fully. It's back 4 legs weren't working very well so it couldn't flip over off it's back, but it was still very much alive.

I left it on it's back in my P. scaber 'orange' container with a couple hundred isopods. Within 15 minutes they were starting to attack it, by 45 minutes they'd swarmed the thing, and after an hour and a half there was nothing left but the wings and a couple bits of exoskeleton.

 

[Hisserdude]

What are isopods going to do to millipedes? As long as you don't have a swarm of them and feed them adequately, isopods will not do as much as nibble on dead organisms.

Actually isopods are used as clean up crews in roach enclosures to eat leftover food and dead roach bodies, so they will eat dead organisms. Dying organisms are not that safe either, and if you have a lot of isopods in the cage they can pick on dying bugs. Only if they are moving really slowly though...

Still, they are unlikely to harm the millipedes, though they could indirectly harm the millipedes by out-competing them for food.

 

[Jacob Ma]

I don't think out-competing should be much of a problem with detritivores as they pretty much eat anything given to them in their controlled environment. Sorry, my grammatical sense isn't so perfect so I meant they will only eat things as much as a dead or dying organism.

 

[ErinM31]

I agree that it is highly unlikely that isopods would harm a millipede that was alive and well. In fact, I found a lot of my little Eurymerodesmus melacis millipedes along a riverbank that is swarming with Armadillidium vulgare. Perhaps I should have worded it differently, but I felt that I should note that people have reported otherwise here on AB. Most likely, something was wrong with the millipedes already or maybe the culprits weren't actually isopods (I seem to recall them being described as being an inch long whoch is latger than I've heard of for any isopod).

 

[MWAInverts]

I have isos and springs in all my "pet" roach tanks that have substrate and they do a good job cleaning food that the roaches accidentally drop. So far, even with small species of roaches, none are betting chewed on during molts etc.

 

[Hisserdude]

I don't think out-competing should be much of a problem with detritivores as they pretty much eat anything given to them in their controlled environment. Sorry, my grammatical sense isn't so perfect so I meant they will only eat things as much as a dead or dying organism.

I see, sorry I misunderstood what you were saying lol! Isopods breed much faster than most millipedes, so I think they could out compete them if you weren't careful.

 

[Jacob Ma]

That's why I use nutrient cycling with them. The isopods are fed scraps of my untouched and uncooked food (usually plant material), or plant material from my plants with browning leaves (sometimes fresh leaves as well). Excess isopods are either removed by some predatorial organisms (ground beetles or woodlice spiders) which in turn are eaten by larger beetles, salamanders, and spiders. When any of the organisms die, they are fed to the bacteria in the soil (hard-to decompose shells are removed or crushed into smithereens), which I use the decomposed matter to fertilize my plants.

 

[Chris52]

Any idea how long it will take for the isopods? What do the babies (for lack of a better word) look like? Thank you!

 

[Jacob Ma]

If you gently pick up the pillbugs (without them rolling up of course), you can see their crustacean egg sacs under their legs (marsupium) that will hatch in a few weeks or so. The hatchlings (can be referred to as manca) are little white versions of their parents (about 2mm or the length of a finger cuticle), which should usually stick around with the older isopods or are buried deep in the soil.

 

[pannaking22]

If they're WC, a lot of them will give birth in the spring and fall, so you could have manca running around very soon. As Jacob Ma said, they will be smaller, pale versions of the adults.

 

[ErinM31]

If you gently pick up the pillbugs (without them rolling up of course), you can see their crustacean egg sacs under their legs (marsupium) that will hatch in a few weeks or so. The hatchlings (can be referred to as manca) are little white versions of their parents (about 2mm or the length of a finger cuticle), which should usually stick around with the older isopods or are buried deep in the soil.

Exactly! Don't be surprised if you don't see the manca, especially if you have deep substrate. I knew that I had many mature Armadillidium vulgare and several times saw some pregnant, but never saw any little ones until I gave my isopods what was evidently an especially tasty treat.

 

[Jacob Ma]

If they're WC, a lot of them will give birth in the spring and fall, so you could have manca running around very soon. As Jacob Ma said, they will be smaller, pale versions of the adults.

Not necessarily. I acquired my A. vulgare from my backyard in the dead of winter, so as long as you maintain an artificial spring-like state, they breed like crazy. Though you should make the change a little more gradual, as the pillbugs may not be able to handle the sudden temperature shock.

@ErinM31 You can also offer the isopods with a flat but grippable surface in which they huddle onto, and that is how I usually find the manca. It may or may not be because of the fungus, algae, and other microorganisms that thrive in those particular areas, but over half the times I check their enclosure I find clusters of isopods from 2-15< on a little chunk of rotting wood. As you can see in the picture, the 2 pillbugs are grouped together on the flatter piece of wood, probably for some ventilation or food.

 

[ErinM31]

You can also offer the isopods with a flat but grippable surface in which they huddle onto, and that is how I usually find the manca. It may or may not be because of the fungus, algae, and other microorganisms that thrive in those particular areas, but over half the times I check their enclosure I find clusters of isopods from 2-15< on a little chunk of rotting wood. As you can see in the picture, the 2 pillbugs are grouped together on the flatter piece of wood, probably for some ventilation or food.

Definitely! I often find the adults and juveniles clustered on or under pieces of wood and there is quite a large piece of rotting wood in the center of their enclosure, as well as several smaller pieces. To be honest, I hadn't gone searching for little ones when I check on my isopods. They likely hang out within the wood much of the time, now that I think about it. It just made me happy to see them for the first time. For now I am content to let them be until they are large enough for me to select out interesting color morphs.

 

[pannaking22]

Not necessarily. I acquired my A. vulgare from my backyard in the dead of winter, so as long as you maintain an artificial spring-like state, they breed like crazy. Though you should make the change a little more gradual, as the pillbugs may not be able to handle the sudden temperature shock.

A good point! I collected some in very early spring on one of the first days it was over freezing, but had a decent amount of die off due to temp shock.

 

[ErinM31]

I just checked my isopods enclosures more thoroughly today, checking moisture levels, making sure mold was minimal, adding some food, and ALL of mine have produced manca! You're absolutely right, @Jacob Ma , most of them were to be found under pieces of bark or other wood. They're so cute!

 

[Chris52]

Hello! I found an awesome spot tonight under a rock next to some woods. IVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY ISOPODS IN MY LIFE! I would estimate that there were about 50-100 JUST ON THE SURFACE, with who knows how many in the soil. I captured about three dozen of all sizes (some very, very large, and some pretty small) and noticed that several have nice yellow and/or orange patterning. I'll try to get better pics in the morning.

 

[ErinM31]

Great find! Congrats!

 

[Hisserdude]

View attachment 210302
Hello! I found an awesome spot tonight under a rock next to some woods. IVE NEVER SEEN SO MANY ISOPODS IN MY LIFE! I would estimate that there were about 50-100 JUST ON THE SURFACE, with who knows how many in the soil. I captured about three dozen of all sizes (some very, very large, and some pretty small) and noticed that several have nice yellow and/or orange patterning. I'll try to get better pics in the morning.

Nice finds! I'm seeing Armadillidium nasatum, lots of Trachelipus rathkii, and one or two Porcellio scaber.

 

[Chris52]

Nice finds! I'm seeing Armadillidium nasatum, lots of Trachelipus rathkii, and one or two Porcellio scaber.

Thank you! The P. scaber are the ones that appear to flare out at the bottom, right?

 

[Chris52]

I'd like to start colonies of zebra pillbugs (Armadillidium maculatum) and orange P. scaber in the future. I love their coloration, so I may place an order with Peter Clausen in the next week or so. I plan on following this care video: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/ze...ulatum-quick-guide-video.282503/#post-2460531. Any other tips?