National Park Service Klamath Network Featured Creature U.S. Department of the Interior

Natural Resource Stewardship & Science Klamath Network Yellow-spotted January 2016 haydeniana Field Notes wards off potential predators. The in one spot. Females lay several millipede also protects itself by curling hundred eggs in a moist, protected General Description into a ball which resembles a snail. H. location, commonly under a log. Harpaphe haydeniana, in the Order haydeniana also releases cyanide Pupae are immobile so eggs are laid (flat-backed millipede), which is toxic to small predators. This where there is a ready food supply. is also known as the -scented millipede is not dangerous to humans The young hatch after three or more millipede or the cyanide millipede. as the amount of cyanide is small and weeks of incubation. Immature Similar to other flat-backed the millipede does not bite; millipedes are pale in color and have worldwide, these names come from nonetheless, its secretions can irritate fewer segments than mature the toxic hydrogen cyanide that it human eyes and skin, and sometimes millipedes. As they molt, they get exudes, which smells like almond stain skin. While this millipede has few darker in color, the spots get brighter, extract. Other names are the night predators, one and they add body segments. train millipede and clown millipede. H. (Promecognathus laevissimus) is haydeniana is about 4-5 cm (1.5-2 in) known to be a specialized predator. long. When mature, the upper surface of its body is usually black, with yellow patches along the sides. It has twenty body segments with 31 pairs of legs on females, and 30 pairs of legs on males; the difference in number is because in males, one pair is modified to form gonopods. H. haydeniana live for 2-3 years. Promecognathus laevissimus ‐ the specialized millipede predator. Photo Credit: Joyce Cross. Mature millipedes feed on a variety of dead leaves and decayed wood Immature H. haydeniana. Photo Credit: Natalie including Douglas-fir, true fir, cedar, McNear and several deciduous species. Where to See Immature millipedes feed on humus. H. haydeniana can be seen in moist, This species is possibly the most mid to low elevation forests in the critical shredder in forests of the Pacific Northwest, and are quite Pacific coast. It is estimated that H. common in the spring. Due to its lack

haydeniana alone eats 33 to 50 of predators, this millipede is able to Mature H. haydeniana. Photo Credit: Franco Folini percent of all dead leaves that are on venture out during the day. Habitat the forest floor. The chewing More Information increases leaf surface area, giving This millipede lives in moist forest https://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/f2013/crai floors along the Pacific coast from microbial communities increased access to nutrients. Most of the litter n_alex/index.htm southeast Alaska to California but has http://www.ccffa- that the millipede consumes is passed also been seen inland as far as the oswa.org/NWWoodlands/soil- . It is commonly found through the gut and excreted as fecal water/2001summer-invertibrates.pdf in redwood and Douglas-fir forests. pellets. The pellets are an important https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collectio food source for smaller invertebrates. ns/ubctheses/24/items/1.0072616 Behavior and Feeding Breeding and Reproduction The bright spots on the yellow-spotted millipede are an example of Millipedes usually mate in the spring; aposematic (warning) coloration that they often gather in groups and mate EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM January 22, 2016