Pillbug trade online fuels poaching of rare isopods, scientists warn

Researchers warn that a robust, largely unregulated online trade in isopods — small terrestrial crustaceans also called pillbugs or roly-polies — is driving poaching and could threaten vulnerable species, the New York Times reported Jan. 28, 2026. At a recent pet expo in White Plains, N.Y., collectors were selling Cuban Spiky isopods for as much as $350.

The Cuban Spiky, Pseudarmadillo spinosus, is about the size of a pinkie fingernail, has rows of sharp spines that line its exoskeleton "like dragon scales," and is known to exist only in a small Cuban nature reserve, the article said. Researchers say the species is illegal to import without a special permit and think it may be critically endangered.

Thousands of enthusiasts in online communities around the world are collecting and breeding different varieties of isopods, with popular names like Rubber Ducky, Panda King and Silver Ghost, the report said. "I always compare it to Pokémon," said David Vargas, who breeds isopods and runs Holy-Poly Isopods in Wildomar, Calif.

A paper published in October in the journal Conservation Biology, the article said, warned that demand for live specimens is leading some sellers to poach isopods from protected areas and could lead to extinctions from overcollecting or from invasive species supplanting native isopods.

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