The Yellow spiky woodlouse is possibly one of the rarest isopods in the world! Looking at this charismatic little bug you would think that it would be easy to spot, but that is not the case. To find these guys you would need to go to St. Helena. It has long been considered a flagship species for St Helena’s highly threatened invertebrate fauna, and is well-known amongst islanders for its bright colours and unusual appearance. However, very few people have seen one in recent years. In fact, numbers have declined alarmingly since the 1990s.
To the Rescue!
A captive breeding programme is also in development, to be housed at St. Helena Government’s conservation nursery facility. this breeding programme began in 2012, as the flagship species for St Helena's rare fauna and flora.
It is too early to say whether this will be a success, but the population is now so small that we cannot afford to leave its survival to chance Efforts are under way to restore a larger area of suitable habitat and to link the main site with other isolated black cabbage trees, a common place to find the woodlice, sattered around the High Peak area. A captive breeding programme is also in development, to be housed at St Helena Government’s conservation nursery facility (‘Scotland’, in the island’s St Paul’s district). It is too early to say whether this will be a success, but the population is now so small that we cannot afford to leave its survival to chance. Thanks to the extensive research efforts, we are hopeful that we can provide for the exacting needs of this thoroughly unusual and intriguing animal.
so our fingers are firmly crossed that these amazing little guys dont join the ever epanding list of animals that have become extinct.