What is a millipede already? An insect ? Some kind of spider?
The millipede is not an insect, because when you look at it, you quickly realize that it has more than 6 legs (an element that defines insects). He also has more than 8, so he does not belong to the spider family, which is called arachnids.
So what is a millipede then?
Centipedes are actually cousins of insects and spiders.
Depending on the species and the age of the beast, the number of legs changes.
There are over ten thousand species of millipedes. Which is huge. Some are carnivores like the centipede or the geophile. They are the ones who run the fastest in the garden. Some are more vegetarian. They eat humus, plants. They are rather soft to react so that, if they are annoyed, they will prefer to curl on them rather than run away on all fours!
How many legs do millipedes have in the end?
Well, it depends on the species.
In millipedes, there are 30 pairs of legs, while geophiles can count up to 180 pairs. That makes them shoes! The record held is 375 pairs of legs for the American Plenipos Illacma.
The funny thing is that the number of legs increases with age. For example, baby Julida is born with only 3 pairs of legs. But with each moult, that is to say, when he changes his skin, his body is extended by a ring with two new pairs of legs. Julida’s grandparents can have up to 100 pairs of legs.
Illacme plenipes from America
