Millipedes

desertrat

desertrat

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I spotted one curled up on the sidewalk being attacked by ants. I thought I'd give him a fighting chance and get him away from the majority of ants so I carefully picked him up and tossed him in the grass. A couple hours later I noticed brownish red marks on my first two fingers and thumb. Couldn't get them off and could not figure out where they came from. I finally put 500 and 500 together and came up with millipede. Went out and found him still curled up and touched his side. Sure enough I came away with a brownish liquid on my finger. Found out more about it today.
When disturbed, they curl themselves into a tight spiral with the head, numerous legs, and the vulnerable body parts in the center of the protective casing. If this does not deter predators, the millipedes also have a system of chemical warfare. When threatened, a millipede can discharge an obnoxious toxic liquid containing hydrocyanic acid from a row of glands along each side of its body.
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And.
An HCN concentration of 300 parts per million in air will kill a human within a few minutes.[9] The toxicity is caused by the cyanide ion, which prevents cellular respiration. Hydrogen cyanide (under the brand name Zyklon B) was perhaps most infamously employed by the Nazi regime in mid-20th century as a method of mass murder. More recent examples include the usage of this gas in gas chambers.
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So I guess I was a collateral victim of insect chemical warfare!
 
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desertrat

desertrat

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verucasalt said:
omg!!! where do you live? I hate just seeing pictures of those things! Are they common in St. Mary's county?
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I see them a lot. I live around town creek. Just don't lick 'em. :lmao:
Sorry....but.
 
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Sharon

Sharon

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Staff member
PREMO Member
desertrat said:
I spotted one curled up on the sidewalk being attacked by ants. I thought I'd give him a fighting chance
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I would've just put it out of it's misery and given it the shoe.
 
cattitude

cattitude

My Sweetest Boy
Sharon said:
I would've just put it out of it's misery and given it the shoe.
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I find them all the time in our basement. I just pick 'em up and toss them outside. But the whole time I'm holding them I move them from one hand to the other. I never thought about them "marking" me but I always wondered if they would bite me. :lol:
 
desertrat

desertrat

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cattitude said:
I find them all the time in our basement. I just pick 'em up and toss them outside. But the whole time I'm holding them I move them from one hand to the other. I never thought about them "marking" me but I always wondered if they would bite me. :lol:
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Can't bite according to this.
Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defense mechanism is to curl into a tight coil — protecting their delicate legs inside an armoured body exterior. Many species also emit poisonous liquid secretions or hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defence [3][4][5]. Some of these substances are caustic and can burn the exoskeleton of ants and other insect predators, and the skin and eyes of larger predators. Lemurs have been observed intentionally irritating millipedes in order to rub the chemicals on themselves to repel insect pests, and possibly to produce a psychoactive effect.
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But what is this? Lemurs use millipedes to get high?
Where that little rascal get off to? :lmao:
 
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