centipede

Millipedes & Centipedes

Despite the name (milli= million, referring to the legs) most have less than one hundred.

1,400 of 7,000 species of millipedes live in the U.S. and Canada.

Centipedes have one pair of legs per segment, whereas millipedes have two legs per segment.

Millipedes are commonly found moving slowly through soils. They break organic matter like leaf litter, helping keep your soils healthy. Having a few of these invertebrates around is beneficial although in enough large numbers they can damage the area.

Centipedes have likely given you a scare at night. They are nocturnal carnivores that inject their venom into their prey. On the menu for these creatures are spiders, silverfish and flies.

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Millipedes

https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/interesting-facts-about-centipedes/

millipede

Top photo: Centipede from Max Richard

Bottom photo: Millipede from NPS / Gracie Housman