#giant emerald pill-millipede

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Giant Emerald Pill-Millipede: when these enormous millipedes are all rolled up, their bodies can be as big as a baseball, a tennis ball, or a small orange

This species (Zoosphaerium neptunus) is commonly known as a giant emerald pill-millipede. The females can measure up to 90mm long (roughly 3.5 inches), making this the largest species of pill-millipede in the world.

There is a significant degree of sexual dimorphism in this species, with the males measuring only about 45mm (1.8 inches) long -- roughly half the size of the females.

Giant emerald pill-millipedes are found only in Madagascar, which is home to several endemic species of giant pill-millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida). The Malagasy name for giant pill-millipedes is "Tainkintana," which means "shooting-star."

Pill-millipedes use conglobation as a defense mechanism, which means that they can curl their bodies up into a spherical shape so that their dorsal plates form a protective shield around the softer, more vulnerable parts of their bodies, just like an actual pill-bug or a "roly-poly."

When they roll themselves up completely, they look almost like gently polished chunks of malachite, emerald, or jade.

Giant emerald pill-millipedes will sometimes form large swarms that travel together as a group. This is the only species of giant pill-millipede that engages in any sort of swarming behavior, and the purpose of that behavior is still unclear. The swarms often contain thousands of individuals, with almost all of them moving in the same direction, even when there is no physical contact that might allow the millipedes to "herd" one another along.

Their swarming behavior also has some very peculiar features, as this article explains:

During swarming, Zoosphaerium neptunus individuals pay little attention to their surroundings; many specimens were observed walking straight into and drowning in small puddles. Some swarms even display ‘cliché lemming behaviour:' in Marojejy, a large part of a swarm walked into and drowned in a small river.

No single specimen was observed walking ‘against the current,' all specimens were moving in the same direction (southeast), even when not in contact with one another.

Of 273 randomly collected individuals, 105 were males, while 168 were females. The males were 8.3 - 14.1 mm wide (average width 10.4 mm). According to the inner horns of the posterior telopods, all males were sexually mature. The females were 9.95 - 15.4 mm wide (average width 11.4 mm). All females displayed non sclerotized vulvae and were sexually immature.

Some researchers argue that the swarming serves as a defense mechanism, providing a layer of protection (or at least some cryptic cover) against local predators, but the swarming behavior is still poorly understood.

Important Note: I just want to remind everyone that these animals belong in their own natural habitat -- they should not be trapped, bought/sold, traded, shipped, collected, or kept as pets. This particular species does not survive well in captivity, either, and the demand for these "exotic" invertebrates is putting the wild populations in jeopardy. The previous article discusses those issues, too:

Another possible threat for Z. neptunus swarms are collections for the pet trade. There exists a large demand in Japan, Europe and North America for 'green -eyed monsters’ as pets. Giant pill -millipedes from Madagascar unfortunately have a very short survival time in terraria. The species is specialized on low-energy food (dead leaves), and adapted to the cool climates (<20°C) of the highlands. Specimens in terraria often starve to death quickly.

So I know that they're adorable and really, really fascinating...but let's just let them be their chunky, adorable little selves out in the wild where they belong.

Sources & More Info:

European Journal of Taxonomy: Seven New Giant Pill-Millipede Species and New Records of the Genus Zoosphaerium from Madagascar

Madagascar Conservation & Development: Swarming Behavior in the World's Largest Giant Pill-Millipede, Z. neptunus, and its Implication for Conservation Efforts

Bonn Zoological Bulletin Supplementum: The Giant Millipedes, Order Sphaerotheriida (an Annotated Species Catalogue) (PDF)

African Invertebrates: Madagascar's Living Giants: Discovery of Five New Species of Endemic Giant Pill-Millipedes from Madagascar (PDF)

[kestrels-and-katydids]

Myriapoda Poll Round 3

[herpsandbirds]

Giant Emerald Pill Millipede (Zoosphaerium neptunus), family Anthrosphaeridae, Alaotra-Mangoro, Toamasina, Madagascar

Photograph by Julien Renoult

[myrabbitistrying2killme]

God may be real but he is also cruel bc tell me why I cannot go out and hug a giant emerald pill millipede rn. Tell me why I can’t hug the friend sized green pillbug with too many leggies. Explain urself. What was your thought process here. I am going to bite you.

[catwhisker]

hi this is really specific but if you can, can you make a stim board thats isopod/millipede themed? id also like if you included african giant millipedes and madagascan emerald pill millipedes. also i know sone people are afriad of/uncomfortable with bugs so i understand if you dont do it. thank you :3 :D (sorry if im doing this wrong i havent made a stimboard request before)

hello!!! you requested perfectly, tysm!!

however, m gonna deny this one. not because am uncomfortable with bugs, but crawlers are a bit of a squick of mine, specifically the legs moving, so im having trouble getting gifs for this one.

m really sorry, feel free to send in any other requests you may have! ty either way for taking your time to send a request, it means a lot to me :3

[goldmanguyperson]

animals i want to see in person:

giant african millipede

horseshoe crab

cicada (any)

giant emerald pill millipede

spiky isopod (any)

kiwi

big centipede (any)

house centipede (cant believe ive never seen one before)

lineolated parakeet

giant isopod

i really like big bug

thank you for reading my pointless list

[firelord-frowny]

lmao i was talkin about bugs with my mamma and i managed to name over 100 bugs/arthropods that i’ve seen with my own eyes. i’m so proud of my bug-seeing. <3

big dipper firefly

brown chafer

japanese beetle

cucumber beetle

seven spotted ladybug

rove beetle

eastern hercules beetle

six spotted neolema beetle

brown marmorated stink bug

eastern leaf-footed bug

leaf hopper

dog day cicada

periodical cicada

waterboatmen

backswimmers

wheel bug

thread-legged assassin bug

pselliopus assassin bug

polyphemus moth

pandora sphinx moth

luna moth

tiger moth

snowy urola moth

hummingbird moth

nessus sphinx moth

somber carpet moth

wavy lined emerald moth (caterpillar)

eastern tent moth

eastern tent moth caterpillar

snowberry clearwing moth

monarch butterfly

tiger swallowtail butterfly

black swallowtail butterfly

zebra swallowtail butterfly

zebra wing butterfly

fiery skipper butterfly

silver spotted skipper butterfly

peck’s skipper butterfly

red admiral butterfly

red spotted purple admiral butterfly

cabbage white butterfly

common buckeye butterfly

chinese mantis

carolina mantis

field cricket

camel cricket

bush cricket/katydid

giant lubber grasshopper

american cockroach

german cockroach

oriental cockroach

carpenter ants

dobsonfly

widow skimmer dragonfly

red saddlebags dragonfly

black saddlebags dragonfly

autumn meadowhawk dragonfly

blue dasher dragonfly

ebony jewelwing damselfly

whitetail skimmer dragonfly

green darner dragonfly

earwig :(

pill millipede 

wood louse

house centipede 

mosquitos, duh

fruit flies, duh

robber flies

crane flies

picture-winged flies

cicada killer wasp

european hornet

bald faced hornet 

eastern paper wasp

european paper wasp

eastern yellowjacket

european yellowjacket

southern yellowjacket

red paper wasp 

common paper wasp

black and yellow mud dauber wasp 

common thread waisted wasp

cuckoo wasp

spider wasp

mason bee

european honey bee 

sweat bee 

eastern bumblebee

american bumblebee

carpenter bee 

four toothed mason wasp

carolina wolf spider gotDAMN those motherfuckers are ENORMOUS

crab spider

marbled orb weaver

black widow spider

cobweb spiders

cellar spiders

three spotted jumping spider

american giant millipede

northern walkingstick

planthopper

tiger bee fly

box elder bug

large milkweed bug

SO MANY BUGS TO SEE 

[futurebird]

This is a hard one! Well first there are the springtails. So dainty and small, with their soft frosted coats. They are from the fairyland of the very small.

The beauty of nature is in the hustle and bustle of little creatures busy doing things. So of course we need some ants. The most remarkable looking ant are the turtle ants of the tropics.

They are quite small generally less than 1cm long, but they are gentle and busy. One of the few ants that are herbivores. Next let's have a trail of leaf cutter ants!

Look she brought you a flower! Do you like it? Don't hurt her feelings, chew it up into a paste and put it in your fungus garden! (Photos by Alex Wild. https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Making-a-Living/The-Farming-Ants-Leafcutters/i-4nbT3p2/A )

How about some ants that jump? With beautiful big eyes?

(Photo from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mantodea/16547896872)

These ants will make eye contact with you and track you as you walk around. But they are very shy.

Last let's have some isopods and also some pill millepedes. Some have spikes!

Look at this little one. These are the exoitic cousins of the pillbugs in your back yard. This next one? Is it an emerald? No! Another pillbug? No! It's a giant (but very short) millipede.

(Photos from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/themagiccity/42939903105)

Can't wait to see what others share.

NOT counting the wings, which insect do you think is most beautiful? Not cute. Beautiful.

(Yes, wing cases count. It can't be for any pattern, it has to be for the shape of the insect itself.)

[kestrels-and-katydids]

RESULTS ARE IN

GIANT EMERALD PILL MILLIPEDES ARE THE WINNERS!

[kestrels-and-katydids]

Myriapoda Poll Final Round!

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS TO FIND OUT TUMBLR'S TRUE FAVROITE BEAST <3

[kestrels-and-katydids]

Myriapoda Poll Round 1

extra cool stuff!

the phillip island centipede is a huge centipede that lives on the uninhabited norfolk islands. it's infamous for being one a few centipede species known to feed on vertebrates including birds.

the giant emerald pill millipede lives in madagascar and is the largest known pill millipede. although sharing many characteristics, pill millipedes and woodlice do not bear any close relation.

[kestrels-and-katydids]

Myriapoda Poll Round 2

[kestrels-and-katydids]

woo myriapoda poll bracket! <3

ROUND ONE (sry this is just millipedes and centipedes; they're most popular and also the only ones i know)

The Persephone Millipede vs the Western Fire Centipede

The Phillip Island Centipede vs the Giant Emerald Pill Millipede

The Kentucky Flat Millipede (the aromatic cherry millipede) vs the Eastern Bark Centipede

The Kentish Pinhead/Boring Millipede vs the sierra luminous millipedes

The Giant African Millipede vs Hoffman's Dwarf Centipede

The House Centipede vs the Common Crytops Centipede

The (Lowveld) Leaftail Centipede vs the Pink Feather Boa Millipede

The Spotted Snake Millipede vs the Laos Waterfall Centipede

~

ROUND TWO

The Persephone Millipede vs the Giant Emerald Pill Millipede

The Kentucky Flat Millipede (the aromatic cherry millipede) vs the Sierra luminous millipedes

The Giant African Millipede vs the House Centipede

The Pink Feather Boa Millipede vs the Spotted Snake Millipede

~

ROUND THREE

The Giant Emerald Pill Millipede vs the Sierra luminous millipedes

The Giant African Millipede vs the Pink Feather Boa Millipede

~

ROUND FOUR

The Giant Emerald Pill Millipede vs The Giant African Millipede

~

WINNER: THE GIANT EMERALD PILL MILLIPEDE