Colorful centipede
March 25, 2010
I found this guy about 6″ underground while planting pine trees in Western PA. It’s about 1 1/4″ to 1 1/2″ long.
James
Pittsburgh PA
Millipede
Hi James,
While they share many physical similarities with Centipedes, your creature is actually a Millipede. They are distinguished from Centipedes by Millipedes having two pairs of legs per body segment. Based on photos posted to BugGuide, we believe this is Sigmoria latior which is a member of the family Xystodesmidae, which BugGuide characterizes as “Many are brightly colored and all have stink glands.”
I like This
Based on comparison photos on Nadiplochilo, this looks more like Apheloria virginiensis corrugata, whose little red sides secrete cyanide.
Thanks so much for your correction and links.
Still a member of Xystodesmidae either way though, and cyanide is of course stinky.