Leopard Bee Isopods (Fillipinodillo sp.)

Of all the Filipino Giants I've kept, the Leopard Bee is the one that stops visitors mid-sentence. Fillipinodillo sp. 'Leopard Bee' is the showiest member of the group, an isopod that carries two patterns at once: scattered leopard-style spotting and solid darker banding, both sitting over a bright amber base. Most morphs commit to either spots or stripes, but this one wears both, and it does so on a body large enough to show them off.

That size is part of the appeal. Filipino Giants earn the name, and Leopard Bee adults commonly sit around 15 to 20mm, with the largest pushing past 30mm. What I value most is that the colour holds. Plenty of premium morphs look vivid as juveniles and dull with age, but this one keeps its spotting and banding fully into adulthood, so an established group stays as sharp as a fresh one.

The genus comes from tropical forest floors in the Philippines, where deep leaf litter and rotting hardwood stay damp and warm through the year. Our animals come from an established colony rather than fresh wild collection, and each order travels in careful double-walled packing with a live-arrival guarantee on UK dispatch.

Recreating that forest floor is the whole task. I keep mine warm, at 22 to 27°C, which is above a typical UK room for much of the year, so a low-wattage heat mat on a thermostat earns its place through winter. Humidity sits high, around 70 to 80%, and this is the part that catches people out: Leopard Bee want a wetter surface than most tropical isopods, with roughly 70 to 80% of the substrate kept damp like a wrung-out sponge, yet they also need more airflow than a Cubaris. High moisture with stagnant air brings mould and collapse, while high moisture with generous cross-ventilation lets them thrive. Getting those two to sit together is the real skill with this species.

Give them depth to work through, 6 to 10cm of a moisture-retentive mix. I build mine on pesticide-free topsoil and sphagnum moss rather than coco coir, worked through with plenty of composted hardwood leaf litter, some flake soil, and white rotten wood, then scatter crushed limestone or oyster shell throughout for the calcium their moulting and their size demand. A thick top layer of oak, beech and magnolia leaves, plus cork bark and lotus pods, gives cover across a moist-to-drier gradient. Skip the standing water dish, since juveniles start small and can drown; misting and a sphagnum patch supply the moisture instead. When startled they roll into a tight ball, so patience pays off when you want to watch them.

Leaf litter and rotten hardwood do most of the feeding, which suits their appetite. On top of that I offer vegetables a couple of times a week, courgette, squash, sweet potato and carrot, the odd piece of fruit, and protein once or twice weekly such as fish flakes or dried shrimp to support that larger frame. They are active foragers, out on the surface far more than the secretive Cubaris crowd, which makes them rewarding to watch. Balance the moisture and airflow well and they breed steadily, at a measured pace rather than a population explosion.

Leopard Bee sits at the ornate end of the Fillipinodillo collection, alongside relatives such as the Giant Banahoa and the Nakar. If you are building a focused Filipino Giant cluster, this is the display flagship of the set.

Common questions

Are Leopard Bee isopods suitable for beginners? Not as a first isopod. They are a medium-difficulty tropical species, forgiving once the setup is right but unforgiving of a poor start, so some earlier humid-isopod experience helps.

How big do they get? Larger than most hobby isopods, usually 15 to 20mm, with mature adults reaching 30mm or more.

Do they need heating? In most UK homes, yes for part of the year. Aim for 22 to 27°C, using a thermostatically controlled heat mat if your room runs cool.

Set the enclosure up with care from the start, and a Leopard Bee colony largely looks after itself: one of the most eye-catching isopods you can keep.