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Millipedeshope it doesn’t bite!!!
Hi Bugman!
LOVE your site. I’ll be visiting a lot! Can you tell me what this beast is? I can’t tell if it is a centipede or a millipede. He was scurrying across our patio here in Apex, North Carolina. Thanks!
Nancy Nice


Hi Nancy Nice,
The difference between Millipedes and Centipedes is that Centipedes have one pair of legs per segment and Millipedes have two pairs of legs per segment. We couldn’t locate a species name for your Millipede, so we contacted Eric Eaton. Here is his response: “It is a flat-backed millipede (Polydesmida order). Very pretty, but many species like this secrete a cyanide compound to defend themselves. As long as you don’t eat one or lick it, you should survive.”
Update: (01/20/2008) Millipede IDs
6/9/05 . Apex, NC. Apheloria tigana Chamberlin, 1939 (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)
Rowland Shelley
North Carolina State Museum of Natural Science
Related Posts
- Pill Millipede (July 24, 2005)
- Flatbacked Millipede (July 3, 2007)
- Mites on Flat Backed Millipede (June 12, 2006)
- Flat Backed Millipedes (September 19, 2005)
- Probably a Millipede (November 12, 2004)





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