Shebeen's Bumblebee Millipedes

I just received some Bumblebee Millipedes (Anadenobolus monilicornis) and thought I'd share. Originally from
the Caribbean and Yucatan, they're now a naturalized US species accidentally introduced into southern Florida by
the ornamental flower industry. During the day, they stay hidden under the leaves and bark or buried in the
substrate. At night, however, they come out in force.

Those look pretty cool, what is that they are eating carrots?

They look awsome, Shebeen.

Very nice colouring. Not my type of invert, but I do prefer these over centipedes.
So are they entirely vegetarian?

DolbyR wrote:

So are they entirely vegetarian?

Yes.

shebeen, thats some great looking pedes and neat enclosure for them

I was poking around my milli tank tonight and found my first pedeling. These little fellas are tiny. This one is about 2mm curled up.

That is way too cool!
How are you planning to keep them? Leave them as it is?

shebeen wrote:

I was poking around my milli tank tonight and found my first pedeling.

Congrats!

I'm going to leave the tank as it is until the babies get large enough for a head count. There's not a lot of information on-line regarding birthrates or clutch (brood?) sizes for bumblebee millipedes other than "they're quite prolific". For millipedes in general, one article stated, "females lay between ten and three hundred eggs at a time, depending on species". That really narrows it down.

I haven't finished going through all the millipede posts on AB yet, so maybe I'll find what I'm looking for there. My specific questions include:

* typical clutch size
* how often do females lay eggs
* do females need to mate for each clutch

If anyone here can answer these questions or point me to some further reading material, please do so.

I have a book by Orin McMonigle or "Elytra and Antenna" on AB. It says "females deposit eggs year-round an inch or two deep in the substrate, one every day or two. Substrate of coconut fiber mixed with leaves and rotten wood works well for the fragile baby millipedes. barely nutritious substrates and work infestations are deadly to immatures under one inch. The young take up to three years to reach adulthood..."

That is the only information specific to Anadenobolus monilicornis in the book. It is however a good read and can be picked up at elytraandantenna.com for $16 shipped, or at bugs in cyberspace for the same.

I'm sure if you emailed Mr. McMonigle, or even Peter at Bugs, either would be happy to tell you a bit more of what they know. Both are very knowledgeable and nice people.

Thanks Street. I've got Orin's book on order. My enclosure has a layer of oak leaves and twigs on top of coco fiber with a little sphagnum moss mixed in. It's not optimal, but it's all I had available at the time. I should have mixed the leaves into the substrate, but I didn't. I'm afraid that if I do any mixing now, I'll damage the newborn and remaining eggs.

Since these gals are producing eggs on a regular basis, I may move them into a new enclosure with properly mixed substrate. I obtained a semi rotten oak log this morning from a place that sells firewood. I just need to chop it up, which is probably easier said than done. I sure do miss my Dad's wood shop.

Yes I think you are right to be careful with your substrate at this time. In his book he also mentions that you can use 3 parts brown sugar 1 part water, or pure maple syrup as a source of nutrition for young pedelings. You squirt a dropper full every few inches. It helps tiny youngsters to get more nutrition from the soil.

I never realized pure maple syrup was so expensive! I'll try the brown sugar option instead.

Are these guys fairly surface active? I have a colony of Ivory Millipedes. Those guys are always out cruising around.

They surface at night and stay buried during the day. They really don't like the light. A few night ago, I spotted all five on the surface at the same time. I haven't seen that since I put them in the tank. I usually see two or three in the food dish when I get up in the morning.

I plan to get some Ivories and some Scarlets in the next week or two.

I really like the Ivories. They are super active, even in the day, and they don't really ball up if you decide to hold them. They seem content to cruise around in your hand.

Very nice pedes shebeen. We have those big black ones over here that I see are sold frequently in the states. Seriously cool critters.

Here's a couple of dinner time photos from the Bumblebee tank. It's been 9 months since I spotted the first immature and the tank is becoming pretty crowded. It's probably time for a larger tank.

Cucumber chomping:

Very nice Richard.

Nice coloration! Do they stay that way?

Yes, the colors are permanent. My older immatures are starting to develop the yellow and black banding of the adults, while the younger ones remain grey. They only grow to 2 inches as adults but the colors make up for their small size.