February 24th, 2006
narceus millipedes
Today, I added a couple of new pages about Narceus millipedes to my Magick Canoe website. I used a collection of favourite photos of millipedes taken over the past couple of years. I also included a 15 second movie (640kb) of a millipede walking on top of a log — it’s a bit dark, but does show the speed and action.
About the above photo – for those who don’t know what they are looking at. That’s a millipede — probably a Narceus annularis. It is quite large — usually about 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) in length. When disturbed, millipedes curl into a tight spiral with their heads at the center. The one in the photo almost hitch-hiked a ride in my backpack after crawling inside of my field note book while we were on a day hike through the Moulton Gorge at Frontenac Park a couple of years ago.
If you want to learn more about these large, beautiful millipedes, please visit the new pages which I’ve mentioned above.
bev
Tags: Narceus annularis, millipede, Moulton Gorge
February 25th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
That’s a wonderful picture of the millipede. Beauty is where you find it.
Just read the Great Silo Fire story – as a vfd member myself, I can appreciate the hilarity.
February 25th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Thanks, Wayne! These large millipedes really are quite beautiful, and often overlooked – and too often trodden upon by hikers (they do look a lot like small twigs at first glance). When I’ve stopped to photograph Narceus along busy hiking trails, people frequently stop to see what I’m looking at and are amazed to find out that these big millipedes are all around. Hopefully, after learning more about them, hikers will be less likely to step on them.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog and the Burning Silo story!
bev
September 12th, 2006 at 12:30 am
ok i need to know something…
my son age 12 says he picked up a narceus millipedes
and it got this deep red ink like stain on his fingers.
We have tried bleach, wd40, nail polish remover. and paint thinner. But the stain is still on his fingers. what if any thang will take this off? Or does it just have to wear off?
September 12th, 2006 at 12:44 am
Pamela – I just did a Google search for the phrase “millipede stains on hands” and got several hits to webpages with reference to the stains. Here are a few of the links. From what I see, it seems that the stains last for at least a week but I’m not sure of how accurate that information would be. Also, the stains seem to be different depending on the species. The African millipedes have a deep maroon stain, but the Narceus is supposed to be more like yellow nicotine stains. I don’t usually handle millipedes mainly because I try not to bother creatures too much when I’m photographing them. Here are some of the webpages I came across that make reference to stains on the hands.
http://www.easttennesseewildflowers.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=Critters (read caption beside photo #15).
http://forums.insecthobbyist.com/view.php?id=17662,17662
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek030522.html
November 12th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
what would be the millipedes reaction when touched on its head with a glass rod? what would be its reaction when touched on its tail end? what would be its reaction when touched in its middle section? what would be its reaction when an object is placed in its path? what would be its response if a tiny drop of water is placed on its head? what would be its response if a tiny drop of water is placed on its tail end? what would be its response if a tiny drop of water is placed on its middle section?
November 13th, 2006 at 1:31 am
Shereika – I never touch millipedes as I just photograph them where I find them in their own habitat. However, I think their usual response to being touched anywhere would be to curl into a coil just like the one in the above photo. If handled, they can exude a kind of liquid that is supposed to repel predators. As mentioned above, it can stain the skin, which is yet another reason not to handle them. I think they would just go over any low object placed in their path the same as they would go up and down over obstacles in nature.
November 19th, 2006 at 6:05 pm
[…] Along the ledge, the sandstone on both sides of the trail is covered in mosses, lichens and ferns. In spring, when the trees leaf out and water seeps through the rock from the above forest floor, it’s an incredibly verdant place — almost other-worldy. There are damp, mossy, miniature grottoes throughout the sandstone ledge, and I often find Narceus and Sigmoria millipedes feeding on moss in these protected niches. As can be seen in this photo, trunks of good-sized Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) cling to the ledges and extend root systems into fractures in the rock. […]
February 18th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
The purplish millipede is so luminous and pretty! I almost thought it was a deformed seashell at first…
February 21st, 2007 at 4:15 am
After watching the video, everyone can conclude that the narceus millipedes is a very elongated, fascinating creature with a timid disposition at times!
February 21st, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Laiky – Yes, the Narceus millipede has very beautiful coloring when you see it up close. However, from more than a few inches away, it looks sort of brown. When we’re out hiking, we often see them and stop to photograph them. People come up and want to know what we’re looking at. Most have never seen a millipede — which probably explains why we find so many crushed millipedes on the hiking trails! They do have a very timid disposition — not too surprising as their own defense mechanism is to release fluids that probably taste bad to a potential predator.
March 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I FOUND YOUR SITE AFTER SEARCHING FOR INFO ON MILLIPEDE STAINS. I WAS MANURE COLLECTING IN THE PASTURE TO FERTILISE THE GARDEN, AND LIKE A CHILD, BEGAN TO PLAY WITH THE MANY MILLIPEDES I FOUND. I BEFRIENDED SIX OF ‘EM, AND IN RETURN, THEY PEED ON ME! MY WIFE THOUGHT THEM HORRIBLE, MY 3 YR OLD SIMPLY LEARNED A BIT OF NATURE. ALL THE BEST! (…STILL DON’T KNOW THE COMPOSITION OF THE LIQUID, OR WHAT IT WOULD DO TO TENDER SKIN, SUCH AS ON THE BELLY, ARMS, OR LEGS.
March 20th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Hi Marc – I don’t know the chemical composition of the Narceus stain, but I’m pretty sure it may have been written about in “Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged Creatures” by Thomas Eisner, if that’s any help.