Fillipinodillo sp. 'Nakar' Isopods for Sale

General Nakar is a real place. It is the largest municipality by area in Quezon province on Luzon, in the Philippines, named after a guerrilla commander executed in 1943, and it is where this isopod's trade name comes from. That is more provenance than most Philippine isopods in the hobby can offer, and it is worth saying plainly, because almost everything else about this animal is thinly documented.

What it actually is

The genus is Filippinodillo, erected by Schmalfuss in 1987, in the family Armadillidae. Note the spelling: two Ps, one L. The trade writes it every possible way, ours included, and we are stuck with the handle for now. Four species have been formally described, and 'Nakar' is not one of them. Nobody has published a description of this animal, so it goes out as Filippinodillo sp. 'Nakar' with the abbreviation carrying the uncertainty.

Being Armadillidae, it shuts into a ball when startled, and that is the one behavioural fact here backed by more than shop copy. Adults land somewhere around 20 to 25mm, though I would treat that as the trade's working estimate rather than a measurement, since the figure gets recycled across several Philippine morphs. The markings vary noticeably between individuals and it is a solid, substantial animal in the hand.

Conditions

Warmth in the low to mid twenties, so roughly 22 to 26°C, is where the independent listings converge. Humidity is better thought of as a moisture gradient than a hygrometer reading. Keep the greater part of the substrate damp and leave a drier corner, then let the animals sort themselves out.

The one requirement worth taking seriously across this whole Philippine group is airflow. Independent keepers on two continents describe these as sensitive to stagnant conditions, and a humid box with nowhere for the air to go is how they are lost. Vent it and mean it. Beyond that, give a deep living substrate built on leaf mould and forest soil with sphagnum through it, cap that with hardwood litter and decaying wood, then stand cork bark across it. Calcium stays in permanently, whether crushed limestone, cuttlebone or oyster shell.

Feeding is undemanding. The litter and wood carry most of it, with vegetables in small amounts, plus a modest protein feed once or twice weekly. Our substrate guide covers a mix that suits them.

Who it suits

Intermediate. It is not fragile, but it grows slowly and builds slowly, so it rewards someone who has already kept a colony going and is not expecting numbers in a hurry. If you want the same genus with more ornament, Leopard Bee is the ornate amber-and-banded one and holds its markings into adulthood. Whatever else we have from the group is listed under our Filipino isopods.

One honest note on the group, since you will see it elsewhere. The morph widely sold in the UK as 'Giant Banahoa' is named after Mount Banahaw, a volcano on the Quezon and Laguna border. Banahoa is not a spelling of anything. The Philippine sellers and the hobby taxonomy sites both use Banahaw, and we would rather tell you that than quietly repeat the error.

Ours are captive-bred. Colonies ride on wetted sphagnum, shut inside a vented pot which sits within a twice-walled carton. We stop posting at Thursday, which keeps every order clear of the weekend. Delivery is tracked and next-day, before 1pm. Groups are counted generously rather than exactly, and arrival alive is guaranteed.