Weri mano
Giant Pill Millipede
Sphaerotherium giganteum
Their Story
The giant pill millipede might look like a shiny dark cherry-sized ball—but when it unrolls at night, it reveals a multitude of legs quietly working the forest floor. Endemic to Aotearoa and surviving here in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary’s pest-free native forest, its presence is a sign of ecological depth and recovery.
Conservation Status
Giant pill millipedes are vulnerable due to their slow development, reliance on undisturbed forest floor habitat and predation from introduced mammals. Their survival is strongly enhanced inside predator-free sanctuaries like Brook.
Population
Endemic to New Zealand, the genus Procyliosoma comprises five species or subspecies found only here, often in moist, mature native forest rich in leaf-litter and rotting logs. Occurring within the Sanctuary, these millipedes are evidence of a recovering ecosystem. Their presence—though subtle—reflects successful habitat restoration and pest eradication.
Food
Mostly nocturnal, giant pill millipedes unfurl at night to feed on decaying wood, fallen leaves and other detritus—playing a vital role in nutrient recycling.
These compact millipedes are distinguished by their ability to roll up into a near-perfect ball (called conglobation), hiding head and legs entirely beneath glossy plates. Each segment (tergite) overlaps the next, forming a protective shield. Colours vary from dark brown to black-shiny, with adult sizes comparable to a large marble or cherry.
Mostly nocturnal, giant pill millipedes unfurl at night to feed on decaying wood, fallen leaves and other detritus—playing a vital role in nutrient recycling. During the day they remain curled into protective balls beneath logs, bark or leaf-litter—a clever adaptation that shields them from predators and the elements.
Adults mature slowly and have relatively low reproductive output. Females lay eggs in moist forest litter or under logs. Hatchlings emerge as miniature adults and gradually grow through years of forest debris-rich habitat. Their longevity and slow life-history make intact forest and protected conditions crucial for their survival.
Endemic to New Zealand, the genus Procyliosoma comprises five species or subspecies found only here, often in moist, mature native forest rich in leaf-litter and rotting logs. Within the Brook Sanctuary’s beech-podocarp forest, the presence of these millipedes highlights the sanctuary’s structural complexity and organic substrate build-up. brooksanctuary.org.nz+1
Though precise conservation status varies by species, giant pill millipedes are vulnerable due to their slow development, reliance on undisturbed forest floor habitat and predation from introduced mammals. Loss of mature forest, removal of deadwood, and disturbance of litter layers all reduce viable habitat. Their survival is strongly enhanced inside predator-free sanctuaries like Brook.
Occurring within the Sanctuary, these millipedes are evidence of a recovering ecosystem. Their presence—though subtle—reflects successful habitat restoration and pest eradication. They’re quiet contributors to forest health, working behind the scenes in the leaf litter so that the forest above can flourish.
🪵 When threatened, a giant pill millipede can curl into a perfectly smooth ball—its segments locking together so tightly that predators can’t pry them open.
Our other residents
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🪶 Ngahere Neighbourhood: piriwai (spiny gilled mayfly)
Tiny, ancient, and found only in Aotearoa — the spiny gilled mayfly (Coloburiscus humeralis) spends up to four years underwater before living just a few days as an adult.
Piriwai can only survive in clean, fast-flowing streams. Its larvae cling to river rocks, filtering food from the water with tiny hair-like gills. They are an important sign of healthy freshwater ecosystems, so much so that this species gets a rating of 8-9 on the sensitivity/stream health rating. All native stream macroinvertebrates are ranked in terms of their sensitivity and used as a bioindicator of stream health.
The Sanctuary stream is a reference site for stream health and represents a `pure`, unadulterated site and thus is highly diverse in sensitive stream invertebrates.
📸 Photo: Taken by Henry Hart here at the Sanctuary
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #AotearoaNature #FreshwaterLife #NelsonTasman #Conservation #Piriwai
Feb 17
Their Raucous Call Returns: Kākā Set to Reclaim the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. 🦜
This March, we’re scheduled to welcome two male and one female kākā fledglings from the Dunedin Botanic Garden kākā breeding programme. There’s also the potential for a further four birds to arrive in May.
Kākā are unique to Aotearoa and are nationally vulnerable, with populations heavily impacted by introduced predators. Releasing them into a pest-free sanctuary with ideal habitat (old growth beech forest) gives them the best chance to thrive.
This release will build on years of species translocations as part of the Sanctuary’s ambitious ecosystem restoration efforts, including:
🏠 Kākāriki karaka in 2021
🏠 Powelliphanta hochstetteri consobrina (giant snails) in 2021
🏠 Tuatara in November 2024 and May 2025
🏠 Kiwi in May 2025
Over the coming weeks, our team will be busy planning and preparing for this important translocation. We’ll share more details on timing and what to expect closer to the date.
Thank you to our community of donors, volunteers, business supporters, and Sanctuary Members for continuing to back the Sanctuary — your support is vital to every species return. We can’t wait to celebrate this next milestone with you.
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #Kākā #ConservationNZ #NelsonNZ #PredatorFree #NativeWildlife #Biodiversity
Feb 10
Win prizes for your best summer photo at the Sanctuary 📸🏆☀️
This season, we want to see the Sanctuary through your lens — the bright light through the canopy, the textures of the forest floor, and the tiny details that make summer feel alive.
Enter our Summer Photography Competition (part of our Sanctuary Seasons series) and you could win:
🏆 Instant camera (Junior Photography winner)
🌙 Family ticket to a guided night tour
📰 Feature in our newsletter + social media
🖼️ Printed display at the Visitor Centre
📅 Entries close 28 February - Submit your entries via our website: Link in bio
Photo credit: Helen Power - Entry from the spring photography competition
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #SanctuarySeasons #Ngahere #NaturePhotography #NZWildlife #NelsonTasman #VisitNelson #NZHikes #EcoTourismNZ #ConservationStorytelling
Feb 4
Looking for a unique and memorable date night? 🌙🌲
This February, we’re introducing Date Me Darling — private, curated date nights inside the Sanctuary at dusk.
Three styled locations. One couple at a time. You’ll have a styled spot along the main loop track, locally sourced food and drinks, a few games to share, and time to slow down together as the forest shifts into evening.
Beech Glade: for when you want the world to fall away — deeply hidden, totally private, just you and the hush of the forest.
River: crystal clear water, canopy above, flickering lights — the kind of setup you usually only see on Instagram.
Meadow: open sky, long grass, and the forest standing quietly at the edges like it knows not to interrupt.
Bookings are open now (limited spaces in February only so don’t miss out!): Link in bio
#DateMeDarling #NelsonNZ #NelsonTasman #ThingsToDoNelson #DateNightIdeas #NatureLovers #SupportLocalNZ #ConservationNZ #BrookWaimāramaSanctuary
Feb 3
Two cute to be true?
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary and @savethekiwinz teams have been busy over the past few days tracking and recapturing kiwi to remove their transmitters. Thanks to a huge team effort, all ten males were recaptured within just three days.
Some nest burrows held a surprise or two — in several cases a female was present, and a couple even contained chicks. One burrow amazed us all, with not one but two adorable chicks 😍
All chicks are fully independent at this stage of the season, and after quick health checks and transmitter removal, all adult kiwi were safely returned to their burrows.
This special footage was captured by kiwi handler Tamsin from Save the Kiwi, who led the transmitter removal mahi.
We estimate the 20 females and 21 males released in May last year have already produced around 10–15 kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) chicks in their very first breeding season — a strong sign the habitat is just right.
With transmitters now removed from all ten males, the kiwi are completely free, with no further handling needed. Annual kiwi call counts by staff and volunteers will help track the growing population across our 690 ha, ring-fenced, pest-free sanctuary.
Credit: Video courtesy of Tamsin Ward-Smith, Save the Kiwi
Thanks to our partnership with @terunangaotoa Ngati Toa and Save the Kiwi
#kiwipukupuku #littlespottedkiwi #brookwaimaramasanctuary #nelson #thetopofthesouth #conservation #biodiversity #nativebirds #natureloversnz #newzealandwildlife #pestfree #ringfencedsanctuary #conservationinaction
Jan 29
🎻 45 min string quartet concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Come and hear a dynamic young string quartet perform a 45 min concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. We welcome everyone to come along, and bring anyone you think might be curious to hear some classical music in a relaxed environment.
The @antipodes.quartet is part of the Fellowship Ensemble Programme, a joint venture between the @adamchambermusicfestival, @newzealandstringquartet and @chambermusicnz, as a career-development experience offered to four of this country’s most promising young string players.
The Antipodes Quartet are Eden Annesley (violin), Mana Waiariki (violin), Tal Amoore (viola) and Lavinnia Rae (cello).
On this occasion, Brook Waimārama Sanctuary are welcoming everyone at local prices: Adult $15, Child $9; Family $35 (on the door)
Find out more: (Link in bio)
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #NelsonNZ #Whakatū #WhatsonNelson #NelsonTasman #LiveMusicNZ #ChamberMusicNZ #StringQuartet #ClassicalMusicNZ #AdamChamberMusicFestival #NewZealandStringQuartet #ChamberMusicNewZealand #FamilyFriendly #NatureAndCulture #SupportLocalArts
Jan 27
