MILLIPEDES OF OHIO field guide OHIO DIVISION OF WILDLIFE This booklet is produced by the Ohio Division of Wildlife as a free publication. This booklet is not for resale. Any unauthorized repro- duction is prohibited. All images within this booklet are copyrighted by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and its contributing artists and INTRODUCTION photographers. For additional information, please call 1-800-WILDLIFE (1-800-945-3543). Text by: Dr. Derek Hennen & Jeff Brown Millipedes occupy a category of often seen, rarely identified bugs. Few resources geared towards a general audience exist HOW TO VIEW THIS BOOKLET for these arthropods, belying their beauty and fascinating biol- Description & Overview ogy. There is still much unknown about millipedes and other Order Name myriapods, particularly concerning specific ecological informa- Family Name tion and detailed species ranges. New species await discovery Common Name and description, even here in North America. This situation Scientific Name makes species identification difficult for anyone lucky enough Range Map to stumble upon one of these animals: a problem this booklet indicates distribution and counties intends to solve. Here we include information on millipede life were specimen was collected Size history, identification, and collecting tips for all ~50 species denotes the range of length of Ohio’s millipedes. Millipede species identification often common for the species depends on examining the male genitalia, but to make this Secondary Photo (when applicable) booklet accessible as a field guide, some species are grouped Page together under one account. MILLIPEDES OF OHIO TABLE OF CONTENTS 04 How to Use This Guide 08 Life Cycle 11 Ecological Role 16 Species Accounts 05 Millipede Anatomy 09 Reproduction 12 Coloration & Chemical Defense 72 Glossary 06 How to Find Millipedes 10 Habitats 14 Millipede Predators & Parasites 73 References & Photo Credits SPECIES ACCOUNTS BRISTLY MILLIPEDES (16) ORNATE MILLIPEDES (32) 17 Pincushion Millipede 33 Violet Ridged Millipede 52 Log Lurker 34 Amber Ridged Millipede 53 Ohio Twisted-Claw CAMPHOR MILLIPEDES (18) 54 Loam-dwelling Twisted-Claw 19 Slug Millipede SNAKE-LIKE MILLIPEDES (35) 55 Traveling Cherry Millipede 36 Spotted Snake Millipede 56 Northern Appalachian Cherry Millipede FEATHER MILLIPEDES (20) 37 Thin Snake Millipedes 57 Aromatic Cherry Millipede 21 Eastern Noodle Millipede 38 Short Snake Millipedes 58 Mohican Cherry Millipede 39 Barrel Millipedes 59 Salmon Cherry Millipede CRESTED MILLIPEDES (22) 40 Furry Snake Millipede 23 Brown Crested Millipedes 41 Eastern Crystal Millipedes OTHER MYRIAPODS (60) 42 Flocculent Tailed Millipede 61 Pauropods SAUSAGE MILLIPEDES (24) 43 Sickle Tailed Millipede 62 Symphylans 25 Shining Quick Millipedes 63 Centipedes 26 Purple Rough-Backed Millipede FLAT-BACKED MILLIPEDES (44) 64 Long-legged Centipedes 27 Winterchill Millipedes 45 Ohio Ghost Flat-back 65 House Centipede 28 Crescent Moon Millipede 46 Greenhouse Millipede 66 Stone Centipedes 29 Caramel Hooded Millipede 47 Compact Flat-backed Millipede 67 Soil Centipedes 48 European Sculpted Millipede 68 Bark Centipedes IRON MILLIPEDES (30) 49 Canadian Flat-back 69 Eastern Red Centipede 31 American Giant Millipede 50 Pink Flat-backs 70 Kentucky Blue Centipede 51 Granulated Millipede 71 Big-leg Centipede 4 MILLIPEDES OF OHIO HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE This booklet is meant to be a useful introduction to millipedes. It will pro- ing species identification even more difficult or impossible. Millipedes also vide a springboard for you to leap from, and avoids getting bogged down do not reach their full coloration until adulthood, so juvenile or recently in myriapod minutia. The species listed here are those which are found in molted individuals will look differently from the adults. Due to this, color Ohio and can be reasonably identified from photographs or casual exam- should not be trusted as the only character for species identification, so ination with a hand lens or magnifying glass. Species level identification be cautious. If you can only figure out a millipede’s family or genus level is provided for Ohio’s obvious species, but a genus-level identification is identification and it’s more than you knew previously, that is a victory! This often more likely with millipedes. It’s frequently necessary to examine an guide will be useful to the family and sometimes genus level in many areas adult male’s gonopods to identify a millipede to species, and that requires of eastern North America outside of Ohio, but be aware that there are many consulting specialized scientific literature. Furthermore, many of our more additional families, genera, and species outside of Ohio. colorful millipedes participate in mimicry complexes with each other, mak- AROMATIC CHERRY MILLIPEDE SHORT SNAKE MILLIPEDE photo by DEREK HENNEN photo by JEREMIAH DEGENHARDT 5 MILLIPEDE ANATOMY Millipedes are classified within the arthropod Subphylum Myriapoda, ent on either side of the head. The mouth is made up of three main features: which includes four classes: Diplopoda (millipedes), Chilopoda (centipedes), an upper lip (labrum), a pair of mandibles, and a flattened grinding-plate, Symphyla (garden centipedes), and Pauropoda (pauropods). Myriapods are the gnathochilarium. Millipedes are vegetarians and they eat dead leaves, most closely related to the insects and crustaceans, and are separated from wood, and fungi. The trunk is made up of a varying number of body rings, other arthropod groups by having one pair of antennae and having twelve or ranging from as few as a dozen to as many as a couple hundred, depending more pairs of legs. Each class of myriapods can be recognized by the following on the millipede. The first ring after the head is called the collum: it is legless. features: millipedes have two pairs of legs on most body rings, centipedes The second, third, and fourth rings each have one pair of legs. The following have one pair of legs on each body ring and large venom jaws beneath the rings each have two pairs of legs. The last few rings lack legs, and the last head, garden centipedes have beaded antennae, and pauropods have anten- ring is called the telson. The telson is made up of a dorsal epiproct which is nae with two branches. sometimes triangular or square-shaped, two lateral anal valves, and a ventral hypoproct, a small rounded plate. Millipedes come in a variety of shapes, but are typically flat or cylindrical. The flat-backed millipedes often have lateral extensions of their exoskeleton Millipedes breathe through kidney-shaped openings near the base of each called paranota, which can obscure their legs, and which help them wedge legpair, called spiracles. These spiracles connect to tracheae that carry oxygen themselves into crevices. The millipede body has two main parts: a head and directly to their organs and muscles. Millipedes have a simple heart that is a a trunk. The head has one pair of 7-segmented, elbowed antennae with many dorsal tube running the length of their bodies, and their nervous system is sensory pores and setae and two patches of simple eyes (ocelli) may be pres- composed of a brain located in the head and a ventral nerve cord. collum epiproct ocelli 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 paraproct ozopore antenna spiracle gnathochilarium mandible gonopod hypoproct 6 HOW TO FIND MILLIPEDES LAWRENCE COUNTY, OHIO photo by DEREK HENNEN Although millipedes can occasionally be found indoors, this is not their they often cling to the surface. A three-pronged garden claw or other similar preferred habitat, and are likely either seeking moisture, escaping unfavor- tool functions as an excellent and inexpensive device to uncover millipedes able conditions, or wandered inside by mistake. Around the exterior of hous- and can be used to brush aside leaves and turn over rocks. Additionally, a es and buildings, they may be found in mulch, compost, under trash cans, or flashlight or headlamp is useful for illuminating the dim habitats under the under flower pots. If you want to avoid having millipedes as roommates, it is forest canopy. If you’re having difficulty finding millipedes, try searching recommended to move millipede habitat away from building foundations. in habitats with more moisture, such as leaf litter near streams or in small depressions on the forest floor. When you’re finished searching an area, The easiest way to find millipedes is to search areas with trees and a layer please remember to return leaf piles, rocks, and logs back to their original of leaf litter, and slowly turn over rocks, logs, and leaf piles. Millipedes are positions to help protect and preserve these important habitats for all the most often found at the interface between the soil and the leaf litter, so you animals living there. may have to clear away the top layer of litter before finding them. Be sure to look both on the ground and on the underside of the cover you lifted up, as In addition to leaf piles, other prime millipede microhabitats include Smaller or more loose bark of fallen logs or standing dead trees. Some millipedes are easier cryptic millipedes may to find at night, and can often be found on trails, logs, or tree trunks with require more specialized the aid of a flashlight or headlamp. Some millipedes fluoresce under an collection techniques, ultraviolet flashlight, glowing a bright blue-green hue, making them ex- such as pitfall traps or ponentially easier to locate during the night. Millipedes are safe to handle, leaf litter extraction with but be sure to wash your hands afterwards, as their defensive secretions can a Berlese funnel. These irritate eyes or other sensitive areas. You should also be aware that grab- are excellent methods for bing a millipede will typically induce it to poop on you, another one of their collecting millipedes and WEST UNION, OHIO photo by DEREK HENNEN defensive strategies. other forest floor Millipedes usually have two different reactions to being exposed.