Millipede

The Millipede is an arthropod, belonging to the class Diplopoda. There are about 1o,ooo species. The millipede has its home in and eats from the rotting bodies of plants. Some species are harmful to living vegetation while others prey on living or decayed animals . The group’s typical aspect is its diplosomites. Their bodies have about 200 pairs of legs. Each diplosomite has two legs, with the exception of the legless first section and the next three sections, each with a single pair of legs. Additionally, every diplosomite, with the exception of the first four, has two pairs of internal organs (i.e., two pairs of ganglia and two pairs of heart arteries). The head has antennae, eyes (called ocelli), and one maxilla. The length varies from 0.2 to 28 cm. The amount of segments ranges from 11 to over 100 in certain species. Except for one order, every order of millipedes are covered with calcareous dorsal plates. Instead of biting, most defend themselves by tucking their heads into a tight coil with their outer skeleton shown, while others discharge a poisonous fluid from lateral glands. The class includes: the one inch Julus terrestris, a species native to Europe and brought to North America, and the smooth-bodied forms frequently called wireworms. A few colorful millipedes have no eyes, such as the 2.5 cm Oxidus gracilis. One of the most common forms is the 10 cm Narceus americanus found in forests of the U.S. southeast . Archispirostreptus gigas, native to subtropical Africa, is the largest living species, growing to around 28 cm.