Milipede update

Jerry

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
594
@Ratmosphere
They are awesome pets and for the most part once you get them setup the maintain I say take the plunge and don't just get one get a bunch
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 28, 2015
Messages
193
How goes the millipede research?
I've been busy with some other stuff lately but I'm sure I'll get some time to look stuff up soon!

Absolutely! I definitely want to study Xystodesmids in the field; it must be possible to figure out their husbandry. I think I'm making progress with my local Eurymerodesmus melacis.
exactly, if you can see the conditions they live in and what they prefer, it makes it so much easier to figure out what you need to do with them in captivity and how best to replicate it.

I'm afraid I don't know either; I haven't read of Spirobolid species that die after reproducing but that seems possible. How are the pedelings doing?
I don't think it'd be impossible, considering lots of insects die shortly thereafter mating. I'm not sure if that is the case for the scarlet's, or if they just happened to be closer to death so they died afterwards. Perhaps I can figure that out if the pedelings grow up.
They are doing well, I assume. I never see them come out, but I never saw the adults either. And I don't go digging through their enclosure to check on them.

Might you be willing to collect some extra to trade?
Absolutely!
I just have to wait for a good morning to go get some. It's been raining a lot the past few days so I haven't gone out looking for them. Hopefully sometime this week the weather will be a bit clearer so I can go get some.
I'll let you know when I'm able to get some!

I'll definitely post if I get offspring! :) I suspect that these are a new species of Narceus. They behave differently from my other Narceus millipedes in addition to their unique appearance.
Awesome!
That would be really cool. I've not seen any quite that colour, and if they behave differently it wouldn't be a stretch to think they're new. They certainly are very beautiful.

Thank you! That is my goal!
Well I encourage you to keep at it! It'd be a great thing to have available.

Perhaps invertebrate enzymes responsible for dark pigment have some additional vital function? I can think of no other reason it should be rare. In any organism, albinism arises by a chance mutation in such enzymes and since most arthropods produce lots of offspring, you'd think albinism would be MORE common than in vertebrates. :confused: Yet I'm sure that if there were such a thing as albino tarantulas, they would be quite popular.
It's possible. But I don't think there's anyone out there researching that. Would be interesting to see if there is a reason for it though.
Albino tarantulas would be quite interesting. Especially if they were extremely white in colour.
 

ErinM31

Arachnogoddess
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Feb 25, 2016
Messages
1,217
I've been busy with some other stuff lately but I'm sure I'll get some time to look stuff up soon!
I understand -- been busy too, but am looking forward to hopefully doing some in the field research of local millipedes come fall! :)

I don't think it'd be impossible, considering lots of insects die shortly thereafter mating. I'm not sure if that is the case for the scarlet's, or if they just happened to be closer to death so they died afterwards. Perhaps I can figure that out if the pedelings grow up.
They are doing well, I assume. I never see them come out, but I never saw the adults either. And I don't go digging through their enclosure to check on them.
Yeah, I definitely recommend against digging through the substrate as there's the risk of injuring them if they've recently molted! I know what you mean though. My Tylobolus millipedes are the same way and I only found pedelings at all because I needed to rehouse them and change their substrate (I still have the old substrate and will check through it for pedelings once more before I through it out) and now I never see them but hope they continue to do well.

Absolutely!
I just have to wait for a good morning to go get some. It's been raining a lot the past few days so I haven't gone out looking for them. Hopefully sometime this week the weather will be a bit clearer so I can go get some.
I'll let you know when I'm able to get some!
Awesome -- thank you! :D No rush, just whenever you're able to find some. They are so vibrantly colored! I have only have one yet but would like to start a culture. :)

Awesome!
That would be really cool. I've not seen any quite that colour, and if they behave differently it wouldn't be a stretch to think they're new. They certainly are very beautiful.
We'll see -- now my "regular" Narceus americanus are making my statement false by hanging out on the surface more themselves! :rofl: I have what is most likely a young N. americanus from Arkansas that looks similar to these millipedes, but I expect its banding to become more pronounced as it grows like other brown-striped morphs of N. amercianus that I have seen photos of. I still think they are something different:
1) They are mature but are MUCH smaller than either N. americanus or N. annularis (which some taxonomists say are the same species, even though they differ in appearance and reproduction, but I digress...), no larger than Chicobolus spinigerus.
2) Their legs are not red, unlike every other N. americanus morph that I have seen, except for the albino morph featured in Millipeds in Captivity.
3) I believe they came from Florida, most of which is south of the range of N. americanus.

Of course they COULD be a very different morph, one that established a population through founder effect or because this morph, unlike larger darker N. americanus, was somehow better adapted to range south... but that is sounded like speciation, no? If I may be so bold, will declare them Narceus sp. "pale" until I have official word otherwise. ;)

Well I encourage you to keep at it! It'd be a great thing to have available.
Absolutely! :) It will take a while to collect all the data I need, but anything worth doing is worth doing well!

It's possible. But I don't think there's anyone out there researching that. Would be interesting to see if there is a reason for it though.
Albino tarantulas would be quite interesting. Especially if they were extremely white in colour.
Yeah, I asked Google and only found a thread on another forum where someone seemed quite pleased with themselves to say that tarantulas could not be albino because albinism is defined as a lack of pigmentation in the skin and tarantulas, of course, do not have skin. *epic unimpressed face* OBVIOUSLY, invertebrates have pigmentation in their hair and exoskeleton and thus albinism for them would be a lack of pigment there. :rolleyes: Now why does THAT almost never happen??? (excluding those that live in caves or are otherwise naturally white, of course)
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 28, 2015
Messages
193
I understand -- been busy too, but am looking forward to hopefully doing some in the field research of local millipedes come fall! :)
Finally had some time to go look for millipedes! Found 14 Scarlet Millipedes and 18(if I remember correctly) Bumblebees! There were more bumblebees, but they were up on the building, out of reach.
I'm also most likely going again tomorrow morning to collect more scarlets and maybe more bumblebees if I can reach / find them!

Yeah, I definitely recommend against digging through the substrate as there's the risk of injuring them if they've recently molted! I know what you mean though. My Tylobolus millipedes are the same way and I only found pedelings at all because I needed to rehouse them and change their substrate (I still have the old substrate and will check through it for pedelings once more before I through it out) and now I never see them but hope they continue to do well.
I'm figuring out that maybe younger scarlets like to stay under the substrate, because some of the sexually mature scarlets I collected the other day were out. It would make sense, wanting to stay hidden while you're smaller and more vulnerable.

Awesome -- thank you! :D No rush, just whenever you're able to find some. They are so vibrantly colored! I have only have one yet but would like to start a culture. :)
They're really good breeders - at least the ones I have are. Always finding young ones out and about.

Of course they COULD be a very different morph, one that established a population through founder effect or because this morph, unlike larger darker N. americanus, was somehow better adapted to range south... but that is sounded like speciation, no? If I may be so bold, will declare them Narceus sp. "pale" until I have official word otherwise. ;)
Might just have to wait and see if they grow any larger and any pedelings that pop out. If the colour stays consistent through all the young, it could be some kind of new species. Because normally with morphs, there will still be some variation, but if it's a "normal" morph, they'll typically all look the same.

Absolutely! :) It will take a while to collect all the data I need, but anything worth doing is worth doing well!
So true! And worth it!!

Yeah, I asked Google and only found a thread on another forum where someone seemed quite pleased with themselves to say that tarantulas could not be albino because albinism is defined as a lack of pigmentation in the skin and tarantulas, of course, do not have skin. *epic unimpressed face* OBVIOUSLY, invertebrates have pigmentation in their hair and exoskeleton and thus albinism for them would be a lack of pigment there. :rolleyes: Now why does THAT almost never happen??? (excluding those that live in caves or are otherwise naturally white, of course)
Maybe it's just less likely for hair and exoskeletons to have a lack of pigmentation, and generally always produce their pigmentation?
Maybe there's something underlying with albinism that effects the health of insects, maybe they die when fairly young compared to a "normal" counterpart. Maybe they are more susceptible to ailments if albino in the wild.
A lot of albino animals are susceptible to death, not just because they stick out like a sore thumb, but because they don't have the normal protection from the elements that their normal counterparts do.
Maybe there's something to do with that, they just die off in the wild before they're even big enough to be identifiable as albino.
 

ArachnoBoss

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 13, 2020
Messages
4
Florida ivory not sure the scientific name and you should love millipedes hopefully going to get some scarlet milupedess soon to ad to my collection
They're not Florida Ivory( chicopolus spinigerus) they're Othoporus ornatus common name Smokey Oak Millipede. And they yellow is Obv Bumble bee Millipedes scientific name: Anadenobolus monilicornis.
 

isopodgeek

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
126
They're not Florida Ivory( chicopolus spinigerus) they're Othoporus ornatus common name Smokey Oak Millipede. And they yellow is Obv Bumble bee Millipedes scientific name: Anadenobolus monilicornis.
I believe Othopourus Oranatus is the scientific name for the Desert Millipede.
 
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