Bugs cause us to react in many negative ways, but some of us find the way millipedes walk to be hypnotic. Millipedes are distinguished by their two pairs of jointed legs on most of their body segments. Most species have long, flattened-cylindrical bodies with more than 20 segments, although pill millipedes, in particular, are usually shorter and they can curl up in a ball to defend themselves when they feel threatened. Other millipedes have different defense mechanisms to ward off predators. Some species secrete irritating and pungent chemicals from glands on the sides of their bodies, which prevents the threat from trying to touch them. Others use a defensive spray that contains hydrochloric acid, which is strong enough to burn human skin on contact. Because of these defensive techniques, it is recommended that gloves be worn when handling them.
Millipedes are considered non-venomous and generally nonpoisonous. Their name in Latin means a thousand feet, although no known species has that many. The species with the greatest number of legs are known as Illacme plenipes. Despite measuring less than 1¼ inch, the females have 750 legs. Many people mistake them for their cousins, the centipede. The easiest way to tell the two apart is the placement and number of pairs of legs per segment. Millipedes two pairs of legs per segment are directly underneath its body, while the centipedes only have one pair per segment located on the sides of their bodies.
There is also a big disparity in their diets. Centipedes are predators who typically use a neurotoxic venom that quickly immobilizes prey like cockroaches, small reptiles, and other insects. Millipedes devour damp, decaying plants and wood matter wherever they can find it.
Millipedes come in a wide assortment of colors and lengths. Depending on the species, they can be red, white, brown, orange, or black and measure anywhere from 1/10th of an inch to over a foot. They are hardy and industrious, as evidenced by the fact that they've been crawling around this planet for approximately 440 million years and are believed to be one of the first creatures to ever become land-dwellers. There are about 7,000 species of millipedes found globally, but only 1,400 or so are in the United States. The garden or pill millipede of the Polydesmida order is known to invade homes in Indiana. They sometimes exhibit the strange behavior of going on mass pilgrimages to find new food sources and places to live and have been found in groups of up to several million.
In the wild, lemurs are known to eat millipedes for the drug-like effect the bug’s toxin has. The primate also rubs the secretion on its fur as an insect repellent. Although millipedes have represented everything from long life to success to immortality in some cultures, American culture sees them as just another pest.
If you've spotted any of these nuisances in your home, office, or warehouse, chances are there are plenty more where they came from. If you're ready to have them and their sneaky friends removed from your northeast Indiana property, Fortified Pest Control has experts on hand ready to get rid of them for you. We are the area's number one rated pest control service.
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