Millipedes

What would you like to find out?

What do you know about millipedes?

Many people get confused between a centipede and a millipede. The arrangement of the legs of a millipede is different from a centipede.

Centipedes have one pair of leg on each body part.

Millipedes have two pairs of legs

on each body part.

A millipede is one of the most interesting creatures. It gets its name from two Latin words mille (meaning thousand) and pes (meaning foot). The scientific name of this animal is Diplopoda.

Millipedes do not actually all have hundreds of legs. They can have between 30 and 400 legs depending on the different species.

Millipedes are arthropods. They have an exoskeleton and have a segmented body. They are invertebrates.

If you think that this is a rare animal, you need to think again. Do you know that around 10,000 species of millipedes are known to man?

They are cylindrical in shape and can be reddish, brown, black or tan-coloured. They have a rounded head.

These two photos are similar to the ones we have found in our playground.

The giant African millipede is the largest species. It is also known as 'jungle train' or 'chongololo'.The record for the longest one is almost 40 cm.

Studies show that these animals have a very poor eyesight. Some species do not have eyesight at all. Millipedes have special sensory organs on their heads.

Although this animal can have hundreds of feet, it walks very slowly. Many legs slow down its speed, as it moves several legs at a time while walking. It moves in a wave-like motion.

Most millipedes are herbivores (plant-eaters) that eat dead and decaying plant material. They are natural recyclers. A few are also carnivores (meat-eaters). Millipedes also occasionally eat moist, living plants.

They are often nocturnal (more active at night).

Birds, insects, scorpions, toads and rats eat millipedes. As they lack speed and ability to bite, they need to protect themselves in a different way.

Some curl themselves into a spiral to protect themselves when they feel or predict danger.

The giant pill millipedes are native to South Africa. They roll into a ball. When rolled up, they are the size of a golf ball.

Some species of millipedes emit poisonous liquids or gas from their bodies. These can cause itching and rashes on our skin.

Capuchin monkeys deliberately irritate these millipedes, so that they get the poisonous chemicals sprayed on their fur. Scientist think they do this because these chemicals help repel mosquitoes.

Millipedes are found under rocks, in rotting logs and leaf litter.

Scientists think that the male finds a female mate by making sounds when they touch. They don’t make them with their mouths, but by rubbing some of their body parts together. As they don’t seem to have ears, it is the vibrations of the sounds that is important.

When they are 2 years old, the female can start to lay eggs.

The female lay eggs in the ground to protect them from predators. Most female millipedes lay about ten to three hundred eggs at a time. Some species lay about 1000 eggs at a time.

Millipedes hatchlings have only the first three pairs of legs.

Millipedes moult (shed their old exoskeleton) as they grow - with each moult they gain more segments and legs.

Giant African millipedes are the most endangered animals among all the species of millipedes.

These giant creatures are kept as pets by many people. They are slow to move and hence are easy to handle as pets.

Millipedes are not known as attacking creatures and they don’t seem to mind living next to other millipedes.

The life span of an a millipede is 8 -10 years.

What else would you like to find out?

Did we answer some of your questions about millipedes?