You can often see tiny millipedes crawling in your bedrooms, and these bugs are famous for their tendency to curl into a ball whenever they feel threatened by predators.Millipedes are one of the oldest creatures to live in Earth’s soil. Pieces of evidence from fossils suggest that creatures like millipedes were present more than 400 million years ago.Millipedes belong to the phylum Arthropoda; hence, a millipede is an arthropod. You may find millipedes resembling centipedes or even worms, but they are not worms or centipedes.They are arthropods which means they are basically invertebrates that have an exoskeleton, jointed appendages, and body segments. Millipedes are called the natural recyclers of nature as they feed on dead animals and plants. A millipede performs the role of recycling nutrients back to the soil.They can range in size from 0.12-10.5 in (0.32-27 cm). The millipede is known to live in conditions where there is high moisture content; that is the reason why you find them in sliding windows and damp basements.After reading about how many legs does a millipede have, do check how many legs do ladybugs have and how many legs do cockroaches have.Types Of MillipedeThe majority of the species of millipedes you will find in the wild have a cylindrical shape and often drag their body to move around.Each pair of legs is different with every species of millipede. There are two key examples of millipede species.The first is the Cylindroiulus caeruleocinctus. Generally, bodies of all millipedes species are delicate in nature. This species is known for the black-brown color on their body segment.The second is the Tachypodoiulus niger. This species of millipede is known for its brown segment and dark spots along its side.As a defensive move, all species of millipedes curl up in order to protect themselves. The legs of this species are lighter in contrast to the color of the whole body.Millipede Vs Centipede LegsBoth millipedes and centipedes are made up of multiple segments that connect together to form one single body. As they have somewhat similar bodies, it is difficult to differentiate between them.When it comes to millipedes, they have two pairs of legs in each segmented section under their body, whereas centipedes have one set of legs attached with each segment positioned on the side of the centipede’s body.Centipedes consume insects that they have taken down with their venom, whereas millipedes feed on plants that are decomposing. The body of a centipede is flatter compared to a millipede which has a body type that is more rounded.Both centipedes and millipedes belong to the subphylum of arthropods called Myriapoda. Centipedes and millipedes respond to threats from predators in different ways as well. Millipedes (with two pairs of legs) will curl up and release a secretion that is smelly; they do not bite. Centipedes are known to bite and quickly run away after doing so. The legs of millipedes point downwards, whereas the legs of centipedes tend to spread out a lot more.There are still several similarities between centipedes and millipedes; both have poor vision and use their other senses to compensate. You will always find both of them living in dark conditions or environments. Centipedes and millipedes might resemble insects, but they are not insects; they are classified under arthropods as myriapods. Insects are only limited to three body segments, whereas a centipede and a millipede have more than three segments in their body. Insects generally have up to three pairs of legs, but a centipede has one pair of legs per segment, and millipedes have two legs per segment (they belong to Diplopoda) while having several segments each.Number Of Legs On A MillipedeMillipedes are not insects or worms as they have more than six legs; so what exactly is the number of millipede legs?If you think that millipedes have 1000 legs, you are wrong. When millipedes actually hatch, they have a few pairs of legs. Every time they go through the process of molting, millipedes grow out new segments with the addition of two new pairs of legs. Some millipedes stop with the process of molting once they reach their adult stage, and some species of millipedes molt their entire lives to grow.The number of legs primarily depends on the species, but scientists have not recorded any millepede having 1000 or more legs. Most millipedes have a number of legs in the range of 24-100. Most millipedes in the wild will have less than 100 legs, but there are some exceptions. The leggiest of these creatures on this planet goes by the name of Illacme plenipes. It is 1.2 in (3 cm) long and has around 750 legs.Do all millipede species have the same number of legs?There are more than 7,000 species of millipedes in the wild; all species of millipedes are relatively harmless and would not attack others even for defensive purposes.Out of the 7,000 species of millipedes, each has a different number of legs. Although sometimes, you might find one or two species with coincidently the same number of legs.All species of millipedes have much slower speeds in comparison to their relatives, the centipedes. According to science, even though ‘milli’ means thousand, there are no species of millipedes of subphylum Myriapoda that have 1000 or more legs.All species of millipedes have sites of leaf litter, soil, and other dark places as their home location. Every segment of the centipede or millipede has a brain to control the pair of legs of that segment. This brain sends signals to other segments, and the movement of the centipede and millipede is coordinated.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ‘How many legs do millipede have?’ then why not take a look at ‘How many legs do centipede have?’, or Millipede facts.
You can often see tiny millipedes crawling in your bedrooms, and these bugs are famous for their tendency to curl into a ball whenever they feel threatened by predators.
