Millipede:

Millipedes are found in dark and damp places. Usually with a good amount of decomposing leaf or wood material. The cuticle is very tought and hard. The body is cylindrical, and is divisible into a head and a trunk. The trunk makes up the majority of the segmented body. Except the first three segment of the trunk (which has only one pare of legs) all the other segments have 2 pairs of legs in each pair of segment. Millipedes feed on decaying animal and plant matter; this shows how important these arthropods are in the ecosystem. When disturbed they crawl into a spiral with the head at the centre. They possess paired glands called stink glands which produce an unpleasant odor.


I observed this pare of millipede crossing a walk way in a garden on 26/6/2007 after 3 days of conduce rainfall. It was rusty red in color and has a dark brown head with an antenna of 7to8 segments which scan the ground for any obstacles. The eyes are compound and bulges out words. Compared to the rest of the body the eyes are very small. In the act of copulation the female moves with the male millipede on top of her body. The Anal circus deposits sperm into the female’s genital pouch while it moves. This is done to avoid competing males from mating with the female.