I followed the larger millipede around for a few minutes trying to get a picture of it as it moved in and out of the foliage. Compact digital cameras aren't noted for their fast shutter speeds ... and I'm not very speedy myself. But at last I was satisfied that I had at least one good image. It wasn't until I downloaded the chip onto the computer that I realized there was a second millipede. I wonder what else is down there under all those leaves? Post script: I originally called them centipedes. See Ted MacRae's comment.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Millipedes
I followed the larger millipede around for a few minutes trying to get a picture of it as it moved in and out of the foliage. Compact digital cameras aren't noted for their fast shutter speeds ... and I'm not very speedy myself. But at last I was satisfied that I had at least one good image. It wasn't until I downloaded the chip onto the computer that I realized there was a second millipede. I wonder what else is down there under all those leaves? Post script: I originally called them centipedes. See Ted MacRae's comment.
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2 comments:
Believe it or not, those are both millipedes, which are distinguished from centipedes by having two pair of legs per segment instead of one (each segment is actually two ancestral segments fused together). They also have different defense mechanisms - centipedes have poison fangs and can pack a wallop of a bit, while millipedes use chemical warfare (cyanides).
Ted, you're the best professor I've ever had. I'm anxious to learn more, so I'll be taking more pictures of our little creatures.
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