EntoScapes’ Bumblebee Millipede Starter Kit Incl. 2x Bumblebee Millipedes 1-3cm
In this bundle you will receive
5L of EntoScapes’ Millipede Substrate
1L of Natural Organic Leaf Litter
1L of Sphagnum Moss
1 x Moss and Lichen Branch
3 x Decorative Hardwood Branches
2 x Bumblebee Millipedes 1-3cm
These guys are fantastically coloured especially due to the great diet and conditions we provide our inverts here at EntoScapes.
The rest of the bundle provides the perfect starting point for setting up a natural and suitable enclosure for millipedes. You can find their care info below!
Limited stock available on these very healthy millipedes so act fast and order your extra brightly coloured little guys from exceptionally healthy parentage today!
———————————————
Bumblebee Millipede Info (Adenobolus monilicornis)
A.monilicornis are a smaller species of millipede with adults growing to 7-10cm and can be identified by the contrasting black/ dark brown and yellow band s on each body segment, amazing pink/red legs and antennae.
Both male and females are monomorphic, meaning they look the same, but can easily be sexed when they are a third of their adult size, by observing the underside of the seventh body segment. Females will have two pairs of legs on every body segment, but males will have small stump-like appendages called gonopods instead of a pair of legs.
Bumblebee millipedes are native to the Caribbean islands but have since been introduced to southeast United States, particularly Florida, through the exotic plant industry.
Bumblebee millipedes spend most of their time living in the substrate, consuming rotting wood and leaf litter and occasionally can be seen exploring the tank. When threatened, they will curl themselves up where the head, underside, and legs are protected by the hard exoskeleton, and can excrete a toxic substance that can be an irritant to sensitive skin. This secretion is believed to deter potential predators in the wild, but there have been documentations of certain wild birds and monkeys crushing these millipedes and using the secretions as an insect repellent! These millipedes will do well in a glass or plastic vivarium with ample ventilation that is at least three times the body size in width and two times the body size in depth.
These are one of the more sought-after species in the trade because of their bright colouration, docile nature, and small size, making them ideal for the beginner hobbyist!
Adult size: 7-10cm
Lifespan: 7 years
Status: captive bred
Place of Origin: native to Caribbean islands, spread to Southeast USA
Temperature: 22-28˚C
Humidity: 60-80%
Diet: Hardwood leaf litter (oak, beech, hazel etc), rotten hardwood, organic compost/ topsoil, sphagnum moss, lichen, mushrooms, variety of fruit and vegetables (favourites include cucumber, squash, apple, banana), sepia/ calcium supplement, protein source (shrimp pellets, nutritional yeast)
EntoScapes Millipede Substrate Info
EntoScapes Premium Millipede Substrate is formulated using the highest quality components, which are guaranteed to provide your detritivores with an enriched, nutritious diet. This substrate contains no unnecessary fillers like coco coir which offer no nutritional value to inhabitants, and can potentially impact the millipedes digestive system. We also include homemade flake soil which acts as a direct food source with highly available nutrients, and adds volume to the substrate. You can either use this substrate by itself or combine with other substrates to boost the nutritional value and support the bioactive cycle within the set-up!
We have a saying here at EntoScapes that ‘substrate=life’, meaning your millipedes health is directly linked to the quality of its substrate. We use this substrate for our own millipedes, isopods, and roach species, and all have thrived and bred successfully. We believe in transparency when it comes to what is in our substrates, and encourage hobbyists to avoid products that do not tell you what’s inside. We are proud to be able to share this substrate with others and hope your critters love it as much as ours do!
Contents: Premium graded topsoil, mushroom compost, flake soil, leaf litter, white rotten wood, sphagnum moss, sand, calcium carbonate
Dried Leaf Litter Info
Our mixed leaves are essential when keeping detritivores such as worms, millipedes, ispods and some species of beetle larvae to ensure that they receive a well-varied captive diet. All leaves are handpicked for the best quality and are free from chemicals and pesticides. Simply sprinkle dry leaves over the substrates surface to replicate a forest floor or soak the leaves in distilled water and break them up to create a leaf mulch layer. Either way, your detritus loving inhabitants will greatly appreciate the extra food and places of refuge the leaves provide. These can also be used to create a natural feel in tarantula, mantid, and scorpion enclosures whilst providing enrichment.
Potential leaves included are Dried Beech, Birch, Oak, Ivy
The EntoScapes Way
Shipping Info
Return & Refund Policy - Live Inverts
- We like keeping A. monilicornis between 22-23˚C and 70-80% humidity for best results.
- We suggest keeping the substrate damp (not soaking!) by misting when the top layer of substrate is dry, and provide plenty of cork bark or natural bark pieces, leaf litter, moss, and hardwood branches with lichen.
- We house our millipedes with springtails in a 40x30x30cm tank, which holds a deep layer of substrate and provides enough floor space for all inhabitants. You want to house any millipede with a substrate that is at least the same length as the millipede in depth, and twice the millipedes length in floor space.
- When it comes to substrate, make sure you use a high-quality substrate that is full of white rotting hardwood and leaf litter as the food component, and organic topsoil, mushroom compost and moss mixed with some calcium sand as a filler component. The substrate should never have to be fully replenished, and we simply spot clean and provide more food component substrate or fresh leaf litter when needed.
- Supplement their diet with crushed cuttlebone or eggshells for calcium, as well as a good quality protein source like shrimp pellets for optimal health. We prefer to feed vegetables to our millipedes to help deter fruit fly and fungus gnat infestations, but that’s just our choice! Like many invertebrates one of their favourites is cucumber which we provide in slices and replace once completely eaten. Many breeders suggest providing fresh fruit/ veg and protein once every 2-3 weeks, but we find that millipedes will readily take these food sources once a week.
- Although millipedes prefer dark, damp conditions, it is important to maintain a regular 12-hour light cycle by placing the tank near a light source, such as another tank with an LED light, but never in direct sunlight as this will heat your tank to deadly temperatures. You can place a heat mat on the side of the tank, never the bottom, if your home is kept on the cool side.
- We often see our millipedes out during the day walking on cork bark and exploring their tank, so it is important to make the tank enriching and stimulating for your millipedes. The happier your millipedes are, the more rewarding they become as pet invertebrates!