Photo 6214401, (c) James Bailey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by James Bailey

Attribution © James Bailey
some rights reserved
Uploaded by silversea_starsong silversea_starsong
Source iNaturalist
Associated observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Isopod Iridescent Virus (Invertebrate iridescent virus 31)

Date

February 6, 2017 03:04 PM PST

Description

This brilliant colour is caused by IIV-31 (Isopod Iridescent Virus). I've been checking hundreds of pill bugs over several years for this unusual phenomenon and my persistence finally paid off!
Sadly, this total colour change is usually the later stage of the virus; once a pill bug is this bright it generally doesn't have much longer to live.

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