A Couple Colorful Clowns!

Mitch Belville Shipment Series, Pt 2/4

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Continuing on with the new isopod additions from Mitch, let's talk about a couple roly polies I've been wanting for a while now! 😁

We'll start off with Armadillidium klugii "Montenegro", the "Clown Roly poly". This hobby classic is one of the first exotic isopods that were imported into the uS in recent years that kind of started the big isopod hobby craze. Them and A.maculatum "Zebra Roly Polys" were super flashy and attractive to hobbyists, who before only really had access to the common EU adventives and a couple "exotic" dwarf species. These have been on my wishlist for years, but I never got around to acquiring any until now. I have to say, as pretty as they are in pictures, in person they are even better! 😁

I have my dozen or so mixed individuals in a moderately ventilated 1 gallon shoebox with a thin layer of coconut fiber as the substrate, two thirds of which I'm keeping humid, the rest bone dry. I've got bark pieces, eggcrate and paper towel rolls for hides, as well as leaf litter for their staple diet. I'm also offering dog food for their protein and other dietary needs. I'm keeping their temps at around 73F°.

Here are some photos of these beauties:

Quite an attractive species, really looking forward to watching the culture grow! 😁

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Now onto a slightly less common but very similar species, Armadillidium werneri. This species is in the same species complex as klugii, and looks very similar, but their spot coloration and patterning is subtly different. Mitch's particular colony is a mix of normals and "Ghost Phase" werneri, and the latter appears to be the more dominant trait in this culture. I actually like the normal phenotype more, and may attempt to reisolate that phenotype in the future. But for now I'll appreciate the beauty of the individuals I do have. 😄

I have my dozen or so individuals set up exactly the same as my A.klugii, no need to repeat that setup explanation again. 😅

Here are some pics of them:

Definitely a bit more orange overall than the klugii, with less border definition, that's the "Ghost Phase" characteristic showing up.

Anyways, that's gonna do it for this post, but just you wait, plenty more new isopods for me to show off! 😁 Though next post I might switch it up with some roach updates, which have been piling up... 😅

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time! 😉