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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 17, 2021 0:56:12 GMT -8
Recently, a good friend "gifted" me this Armored millipede which he personally collected in Columbia in August 1978. He was doing some "log flipping" in a rainforest for beetles and came across this 104mm armored tank (with legs) hurrying along to get away. Just one light touch and it coiled up into an impregnable ball. As you can see even the integument (between) the many sections of its length are even armored ! He just grabbed it lightly with forceps and into an alcohol bottle. He was not risking any offending secretions it may release if handled... Evolution really is the "mother of invention" and this creature is just one in a long list of natures accomplishments.  |
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Post by livingplanet3 on Feb 17, 2021 12:01:42 GMT -8
Nice polydesmid millipede! Indeed, some species in this group can secrete quite noxious defensive chemicals (such as hydrogen cyanide).
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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 17, 2021 12:23:29 GMT -8
Wow, thanks livingplanet3 for the info.
I didn't know what type of millipede it was or
what it was capable of...
Odd things like this have an appeal to me when
I see them in collections since I know any talk
of them tends to be a rather "niche" topic.
I've also got a way "cool" whip scorpion to show sometime
which is very nicely prepared and a SUPER-sized amblypygid
from some cave in Peru which absolutely looks wicked...
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Post by livingplanet3 on Feb 17, 2021 16:42:52 GMT -8
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Post by wingedwishes on Feb 26, 2021 19:37:06 GMT -8
I always thought Trehopr that ‘Mother was the necessity of invention.’
My oldest daughter took one of my dried African specimens that every body segment had separated and she glued each one together again. Way past my patience level
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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 26, 2021 20:24:22 GMT -8
That is a cute story... patience indeed !
I am familiar with that phrase but, I have always heard it put as: Necessity is the mother of invention !
Of coarse, for a species to be a thriving success in nature evolution also has its part (over time)
in being the necessity of invention.
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Post by wingedwishes on Feb 27, 2021 3:17:16 GMT -8
I don’t know, I had to come up with a Lotta new things to cover my rear end because of mom.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Feb 27, 2021 14:49:22 GMT -8
I look at that nasty old Millipede(?) and think of that big bugger crawling up my pant leg heading straight for my night crawler. And I visulize that big nasty thing chomping down on "my" love muscle.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Feb 27, 2021 22:39:26 GMT -8
Leroy,
You don't need to worry about millipedes doing that, only centipedes.
Adam.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Feb 28, 2021 1:48:09 GMT -8
I have found/observed milipeds in my yards. However, many years ago when I was first married, we would occasionally encounter a speedy little fuzz ball of a Centipide in our apartment. Anybody have a picture/photograph??
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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 28, 2021 10:55:21 GMT -8
Hey Leroy, here is a close-up picture of your fast little fuzz-ball cetipede you saw in your apartment many moons ago... This is commonly known as the "House centipede" (Scutigera coleoptrata). It is actually from the Mediterranean region (in origin) but, has spread to many places throughout the world. Unlike, most of their brethren these centipedes lack the armored plating of the typical ones you will find under logs and stones. These are soft bodied, built very lightly (for speed), and can be quite the disconcerting presence when found -- as large specimens can be upwards of close to 2 in. Most folks encounter them in the home during spring and fall with the weather change. Things start "moving" about outside and the warm drafts of our doorways are all too inviting on cold spring or fall nights. Their speed is amazing as they get about on 15 pairs of legs. Most women young and older tend to "screech" when they find them. Here is a photograph from the internet:  I've tried a few times to make specimens of a couple large ones however, once the body started drying out it somewhat collapsed due to not having a thick cuticle of an exoskeleton present. They looked awful as dried specimens so these are best preserved in alcohol. Trouble is they just don't look as impressive or intimidating in an alcohol bottle. Now, if I had a freeze-dryer at my disposal then that would likely enable a nice dried and more "presentable" specimen. |
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Post by kevinkk on Feb 28, 2021 19:45:02 GMT -8
Yah! I've never seen one of those, the creepiest looking things we have here on the coast are giant camel crickets-some of which are really big,
and cellar spiders, which don't resign themselves to cellars.
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Post by livingplanet3 on Feb 28, 2021 20:08:53 GMT -8
Yah! I've never seen one of those, the creepiest looking things we have here on the coast are giant camel crickets-some of which are really big, and cellar spiders, which don't resign themselves to cellars. In TX, it's practically impossible to keep spitting spiders ( Scytodes spp.) out of the house, no matter how tightly sealed it is. I really don't mind them though, as they're harmless and there are MUCH worse things that could come in. I've found a couple of brown recluses in here over the years. A few scorpions too, although they were just the relatively harmless Centruroides vittatus (the only sp. of scorpion I've ever seen in my area). The most concerning thing to ever get in was a copperhead snake; not an especially venomous (or aggressive) species, but I've heard that the bite is still pretty excruciating in many cases. |
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Post by tv on Mar 18, 2021 12:46:34 GMT -8
Hey I've been trying my hand at manually freeze-drying some katydids by leaving them pinned on some foam on the unused shelf in the freezer. I occasionally take them out and thaw them and refreeze them again a few minutes later. I figure if freezer-burn can ruin that roast I was trying to save it can do some good and preserve a squishy katydid. So far they look pretty good. I need to take one out and finish drying it to see how much better it works than just letting them get all discolored on a regular drying board.
I can't help but think that something as thin as those house centipedes would desiccate really quickly if left open in the freezer. |
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