Millipedes

Millipedes, sometimes called “thousand leggers,” usually have 30-90 plus pair of legs. They are widely spread throughout most of the world, with about 1000 species occurring in the U.S.  Adults are about  1/16 – 1/2” long, usually cylindrical and wormlike but some slightly flattened. Their color is usually blackish or brownish but some red, orange, or with mottled patterns. Millipedes overwinter as adults or young. Adult females lay 20-300 eggs, either in soil cavities or among decaying organic matter during the summer; however, they can breed year round under tropical conditions. They have high moisture needs, like pillbugs and sowbugs. They are typically found in areas of high moisture and decaying vegetation such as under trash, piles of grass clippings, flower-beds mulches, leaf litter, etc. Millipedes are nocturnal or active at night.  Sometimes, and usually in the autumn, millipedes will migrate in great numbers.  They are primarily scavengers and feed on decaying organic matter, usually plant material but occasionally on dead insects, earthworms, and snails. They may attack living plants during dry periods in order to obtain needed moisture.