Armadillidium vulgare "Magic Potion"

About this species

Armadillidium vulgare "Magic Potion" is a selectively bred colour morph of the common pill bug, displaying purple, blue, and violet hues across its exoskeleton. It is the same species as the familiar garden roly-poly — not a separate species or locality variant. The relationship between iridovirus-induced blue colouration in wild A. vulgare and the selectively bred Magic Potion morph is debated. Captive-bred Magic Potion lines breed true for colour through selective breeding.

As an Armadillidium species, Magic Potion can conglobate — rolling into a tight, seamless ball when disturbed. Like all isopods, it is a terrestrial crustacean that breathes through gill-like pleopods, not an insect.

Enclosure

A ventilated plastic tub with a 20x15 cm footprint is sufficient for a starter colony. A. vulgare prefers good airflow and does not tolerate stagnant, overly humid conditions. Furnish with cork bark, dried leaves, and a piece of cuttlebone or crushed limestone for calcium supplementation.

Substrate

Armadillidium species have higher calcium demands than most Porcellio. A suitable mix:

• 60% coco coir
• 20% organic topsoil
• 10% fine sand
• 10% crushed limestone or cuttlebone powder

Maintain a moisture gradient — one damp corner with the rest kept fairly dry. A. vulgare leans towards drier conditions than many isopod species. Depth 5–8 cm, topped with dried oak or beech leaves.

Feeding

• Dried hardwood leaves (oak, beech, hazel) — staple food
• Vegetables: carrot, courgette, sweet potato
• Cuttlefish bone — essential for calcium; Armadillidium have thicker, more heavily mineralised exoskeletons than Porcellio
• Occasional protein: dried shrimp or fish flakes weekly

Remove uneaten fresh food within 48 hours. Softwood (pine, cedar) must never be used as food, substrate, or furnishing — it is toxic to isopods.

Breeding

A. vulgare breeds steadily but more slowly than fast-reproducing Porcellio species. Females carry eggs in a marsupium and produce broods of 20–50 mancae. Expect colony growth over months rather than weeks. Starting with 20 or more individuals gives the colony the best chance of establishing quickly.

Morph notes

Magic Potion colouration breeds reasonably true in established lines. Keep separate from wild-type A. vulgare to prevent dilution. Some individuals will be more intensely coloured than others — this is normal variation. The morph is marginally less hardy than wild-type A. vulgare, but the difference is slight and should not cause problems in a well-maintained setup.