Centipedes are quick predators, eating any small animals they can catch. Before them the only animals in the world lived in the sea.Ĭentipedes are usually flattened, and only have one pair of legs per segment. Myriapods are an ancient group of animals, they were the the very first animals to live on land. If another animal threatens them, they may curl up, and some give off smelly toxic chemicals to protect themselves. Nearly all millipede species are decomposers: they eat dead leaves, fungi, and detritus. They move slowly and often tunnel into soil and dead leaves. Millipedes usually have round bodies, and have two pairs of legs on each body segment. In Michigan, all myriapods have more than 20 legs, and all the other arthropods have fewer legs than that (most have only 6 or 8 legs). Like insects, myriapods have one pair of antennae, but they have many more legs than insects do. Actually they are arthropods, they have a tough exoskeleton and jointed legs, and they are related to insects and crustaceans. Centipedes and millipedes look similar to each other they both look a little like worms with lots of legs. Thus they are beneficial, though most homeowners take a different point-of-view and consider them a nuisance.īite : Technically, the house centipede could bite, but it is considered harmless to people., and some small relatives. House centipedes feed on small insects, insect larvae, and on spiders. Centipedes prefer to live in damp portions of basements, closets, bathrooms, unexcavated areas under the house and beneath the bark of firewood stored indoors. Habitat : Though house centipedes are found both indoors and outdoors it is the occasional one on the bathroom or bedroom wall, or the one accidentally trapped in the bathtub, sink, or lavatory that causes the most concern. The legs are long in proportion to the body size, and they have alternate light and dark bands running around them. #Centipede and millipede pictures fullThe body is grayish-yellow with 3 dark stripes extending along the full length of the back. They do not bite, sting, cause structural damage, contaminate foodstuffs, or eat fibers.ĭescription : The body is 1 to 1-1/2 inch long, but its 15 pairs of legs make it appear to seem much larger. Even though they may invade houses, they pose no threat. Millipedes are also attracted to lights, and it is common to have them migrate to lighted swimming pools, patios, driveways, or industrial areas. In Oklahoma, these migrations often result during drought periods following a build-up of the millipede population during favorable spring conditions. In these cases, we often see millipedes migrating, in an uphill direction, as their food supply dwindles or their living areas become too wet or too dry. However, there are some occasions when millipedes invade houses in large numbers. Symptoms: Millipedes occasionally wander from their moist living places into homes, but they usually die because of the dry conditions and lack of food. It is thought that we only have one generation of millipedes per year in Oklahoma. Millipedes stop growing when they reach sexual maturity. Symptoms rarely persist for more than 48 hours. Some of the larger centipedes can inflict a painful bite, causing swelling and redness. Centipede Hide Details Image courtesy of the Public Health Image Library of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As millipedes grow, they molt from seven to ten times, adding additional body segments and legs with each molt. Cool Pictures Creature Design Fantasy Creatures Centipede with babies. Seen from the side, centipede bodies appear more flat and millipedes appear more rounded. In about three weeks, the eggs hatch into tiny larvae with only three pairs of legs. These eggs are laid in the soil in several small clusters of 20 to 100 eggs. It has been reported that a female millipede can produce as many as 300 eggs at one time. Life Cycle: Female millipedes begin to lay their eggs in the spring. Adult millipedes spend the winter in soil, debris, and leaf litter found under trees. They spend most of their life in the soil. Habitat: Most millipedes feed on damp and decaying vegetation and leaf litter, although some species will attack the roots and lower leaves of living plants. Although harmless, many millipedes have defensive glands that emit a foul-smelling fluid when disturbed or handled. When dead or disturbed, millipedes tend to curl themselves into a tight coil. They also vary in color from reddish-brown to black. Millipede species vary in length from one to two or more inches. They are commonly called “thousand leggers,” even though they may only have 60 to 400 legs. Millipedes differ from centipedes in that they have one pair of short antennae on the head and two pairs of legs on each body segment. Description: Millipedes are worm-like, slender, hard-shelled arthropods with rounded body segments.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |