Velvet Worms - Peripatus (photos & video)

[Precarious]

Can't help but notice the larvae in your video are writhing across the pupa of something dipteran. Coincidence?

It is and it isn't. There were 2 pupa cases in there that hatched out and were eaten by the adults, so there is a slim chance these are fly maggots. Even though there were only one fly in there at a time, as far as I can tell, and for no longer than 24 hours, I'm not discounting that possibility because I don't know if flies can mate and lay in that short a period. Do you know?

I found some of the larvae feeding on the empty cases when I separated them. I purposefully shot them crawling on it because you can better see their innards when viewed against a dark background.

So they could be small maggots, they could be babies or anything else that lived in the moss, which I believe was collected from the wild.

If they pupate into house flies I'll be disappointed! Then the joke's on me.

 

[jcal]

if flys then you still got free food!

 

[Precarious]

if flys then you still got free food!

How true.

Likebugs sent me a PDF about the life cycle of a different species of velvet worm and the babies look similar to adults only much smaller. Only drawings to go by but considering these don't have antennae I'll have to accept they are probably just small maggots. Was hoping I'd have some to share. Oh well.

 

[jcal]

Some to share would have been awesome. I had no idea about these creatures. Thanks for the videos and pictures to catch us up to speed.

 

[rs4guy]

Yea the one or two pics Ive seen of babies typically depict a smaller version of the parent. I think you may have maggots there unfortunately.....

 

[Precarious]

Well, I have some bad news, some worse news, some great news, and potentially more bad news.

The bad news is those are maggots for sure. I heard back from the seller and he put maggots in as food. :tt2: So kudos to the doubters. Give yourself a gold star.

The worse news is one Velvet Worm has already died. I used the death as an opportunity to get some detailed photos...

This is the underside of the head. You can clearly see the mouth and the two slime nozzles. You can also see some kind of mite attached at the base of one of the nozzles.

The head from the side. Again you can see the mite.

Here's a good clear picture of the feet and belly. I read somewhere that they have an anus for waste elimination at each segment. I believe that's what can be seen just above each leg.

And this is the other end...

Now the good news is I also found what are unmistakably baby Velvet Worms!

They look like little octopus tentacles!

The potentially bad news is they are not moving. Some are still in a sack and others are partially out. From what I've read online this species hatches the young internally and delivers live young. I found half of them by the dying adult so it may be she birthed them before she died. I don't know if they are alive now or if they will survive.

But there are 5 potential babies, which is awesome! I had to remove any maggots as they were gathering around them and I don't want to risk them eating the babies.

Now I know what to look for and what to ignore. Lesson learned. :smarty:

 

[lancaster1313]

Great photos!

I really hope those babies make it.

 

[lunarstorm]

Definitely rootin' for the little ones, please keep us posted.

 

[dragon]

Awesome photos!

So what do you feed the little devils and what cultural conditions?

 

[Precarious]

The potentially bad news turns out to be actual bad news. Of the 5 babies I found only one was still inside the sack. The other sacks had been breached, probably by maggots. And the only intact egg sack was completely consumed by 2 maggots I missed when clearing the enclosure. Grrrrrr!

I do not suggest using any type of maggots as feeders unless you don't want any babies. Once they are in there they are impossible to fully remove without missing at least a few. I will have to sterilize the moss to assure all maggots have been removed and hope more eggs are laid.

It turns out this species does in fact lay eggs instead of live birth as I'd been misinformed elsewhere. I do not believe they remain in the egg sack very long as you can clearly see they are fully formed before being laid.

Additionally, my supplier has informed me he has more available so if anyone wants some contact me and I'll put you in touch.

So what do you feed the little devils and what cultural conditions?

If you mean the babies by "little devils" I don't really know. I would have played it by ear. I have Springtails and fruit flies I'm sure they would have eaten. But if you mean Velvet Worms in general, I've been feeding them small crickets, house and blue bottle flies. I've yet to actually see them eat because they hunt very early morning. I always find the remains the next day so I know they're eating for sure.

Since they have no ability to retain moisture conditions are 100% humidity and cool, but they can drown in pooled water so use materials that absorb and hold water.

 

[dragon]

Major bummer about the eggs. I expect that at some point the adults would wipeout the maggots and flies thus ending the danger of the maggots eating them. I wonder if one adult Peripatus would eat the eggs of another?

Yes, I was referring to the young. Didn't know if they were scavengers at all.

How cool is cool, if I may ask?

 

[Precarious]

Major bummer about the eggs. I expect that at some point the adults would wipeout the maggots and flies thus ending the danger of the maggots eating them. I wonder if one adult Peripatus would eat the eggs of another?

Yes, I was referring to the young. Didn't know if they were scavengers at all.

How cool is cool, if I may ask?

The adults don't eat each other. They are very communal. I have read they sometimes eat the young so I separated the eggs.

They scavenge as well as hunt so the young could likely survive on the adults' leftovers.

I keep mine at room temp in a cool location, so mid 70's or lower. Not sure what temps are recommended. A friend had heard they should be kept refrigerated, but that sounds too extreme to me.

 

[Peter Clausen]

I'm a little confused about what I see in that purple sac. It looks like 12 potential young, with two of them being more developed? That two of them are that developed and in the same sac (possibly with another ten) suggests to my understanding that this species doesn't lay eggs. Or am I missing something here? It seems the young are too developed for the membrane or shell of an egg not also to be visible at this point. Or are they the less solid kinds of eggs, like frogs have?

Once again, the photos are amazing. Many people have produced offspring of velvet worms in captivity, but your photo documentations are the first I've seen in the hobby. I had a whipspider miscarry her eggs recently. Though very sad, the process was actually more interesting to me than successful birth would have been. Thanks so much for sharing these photos, Precarious!

 

[Precarious]

I'm a little confused about what I see in that purple sac. It looks like 12 potential young, with two of them being more developed? That two of them are that developed and in the same sac (possibly with another ten) suggests to my understanding that this species doesn't lay eggs. Or am I missing something here? It seems the young are too developed for the membrane or shell of an egg not also to be visible at this point. Or are they the less solid kinds of eggs, like frogs have?

Once again, the photos are amazing. Many people have produced offspring of velvet worms in captivity, but your photo documentations are the first I've seen in the hobby. I had a whipspider miscarry her eggs recently. Though very sad, the process was actually more interesting to me than successful birth would have been. Thanks so much for sharing these photos, Precarious!

OK, here's the deal...

The eggs sacks are clear. That first photo is an intact egg sack containing a single velvet worm curled in a 'C'. What you're mistaking for multiple babies within the sack is the fully developed antennae and legs. The brown spot is the eye (or possibly the slime nozzle). I guess I should have warned these shots are EXTREME closeup. You can see the skin texture and the little feet on the ends of the legs.

So they come out nearly fully developed. Unless these eggs were in there and I didn't see them but I doubt that. (I'm obsessive.)

The next two photos are two ruptured egg sacks side by side. The purple is the baby worms. They were already dead.

The last photo is another shot of the intact egg.

I now know what to look for and I've been checking the enclosure every day. It's a tedious process as I must examine each piece of moss, but I know it will pay off - both with babies and an opportunity to document.

That's sad about the whipspider (which I'm assuming is another name for a whipscorpion?). I thought I had an adult pair. I documented the male depositing his spermatophore, which looks like a very small, clear mushroom. Got to watch them do their dance. Then the female died in the process of molting. I thought she was adult and was wondering why I wasn't seeing babies. Found out why the hard way.

 

[Precarious]

In case you're wondering, this is what Damon variegatus spermatophore look like...

The female positions herself over top of it and I'd imagine the cup is designed to fit just the right spot.

Not great images. Just screen grabs from one of my early videos.

 

[lunarstorm]

I hope you make a lucrative living with your audio/video, Precarious. If you don't, I think you *could* with your kind of talent.

 

[Peter Clausen]

Thanks for the explanation on the egg. It totally makes sense now. Such an odd animal to sort out.

I'm sure you've mentioned this a thousand times on the forum, but did you upgrade from the T2i camera already? It's hardly been a year since we both got that camera, but I've never gotten your level output from it.

Whipspider is the more preferred common name for Damon and the like. They used to be more popularly known in the hobby as "tailless whipscorpions", but there has been a movement to move away from the term because it confuses them with...

Whipscorpions, which includes the famous US vinegaroon, M. giganteus.

Yours are the most intact spermatophore photos I've ever seen (I sound like a broken record, eh? Nice work, again!). They usually look more like mushrooms, or as Orin always says "field goal posts", by the time I encounter them in the tank. I have a really nice video I took of a globular springtail feeding on one, but I'm not sure I'm ready to "release" it yet. I can't imagine having to write a song to go along with every video, and I'm with Lunarstorm in being a huge fan of your fusion of talents.

Thanks again for the great thread and follow ups!

 

[Precarious]

I hope you make a lucrative living with your audio/video, Precarious. If you don't, I think you *could* with your kind of talent.

Thanks so much. I REALLY hope I can figure out a way to make a living with all of this. Still searching...

Thanks for the explanation on the egg. It totally makes sense now. Such an odd animal to sort out.

I'm still using the T2i for photography. I love it. No complaints. I should experiment more with its video capabilities, but I'm so used to using the Canon Vixia HF S200 for video.

You really have to throw extra money into the right lens and flash for the T2i to get high quality macro. I use the EF 100mm 1:2.8 USM with Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash that I rigged diffusers over. I also use a few add-on diopters and tubes to go closer than 1:1 since I don't want to spend $1,000 for the MP-E 65mm. If you need any pointers I'd be happy to tell you exactly how I shoot. The most important tool is the flash. The MT-24EX allows me to shoot freehand @ 1/500, F22, ISO 100. No way you could do that without.

Macro is a very specialized art. Shooting macro video freehand for a year before I got the T2i helped me build the skills I would need. But another thing that is vital is really good eyesight. You can't use the 'Live View' screen because of the settings noted above, it will be black due to lack of light, so you have to be able to control your breath and muscles to get the focus perfect through the viewfinder and snap the pic at just the right moment. Most other forms of photography are more technical. Macro is like instinctual sharp shooting unless you're shooting still subject using a tripod. More hand-eye coordination when shooting a moving subject freehand. Aside from that the flash makes it almost point and shoot.

Ha-ha! I think I need to clear something up. I don't write any music specifically for any one video. I have a nice collection of music I've done and I draw from that resource. It's kind of crazy the way they often sync up with the video, and sometimes I adjust my edits to enhance that connection, but I'm not nearly as prolific as some people seem to think. I reuse music a lot. But thank you very much for all the encouragement. Knowing others appreciate the work keeps pushing me forward.

As far as the spermatophore being intact - I told you I was obsessive! Last year when I first got into keeping insects (WOW, it's only been just over a year and a half!) the whipSPIDERS (thanks for clearing that up) were the first pets I got. I would watch them very closely. I took the video those stills are from after watching the male do his dance then planting it, so it was very fresh and untouched. Wish I'd had the T2i then.

I've yet to get decent footage or stills of springtails. They are mysterious little creatures. I've seen amazing photos of them so I know it's possible. The ones I encounter never stop moving!

 

[Colorcham427]

YOU ARE AMAZING HENRY!!!!!! LOL LOVE YOUR POSTS WITH PIX/VIDEO AND INFO.!!!

 

[more_rayne]

Way cool, must get my hands on some of these worms!