Centipedes and Millipedes 
25 
.Se-o 
THE MYRIAPODA, OR CENTIPEDES AND MILLIPEDES 
The old class, Myriapoda includes the Diplopoda, or 
millipedes, and the Chilopoda, or centipedes. The pres¬ 
ent tendency is to raise these groups to the rank of 
classes. 
The Diplopoda 
The Diplopoda, or millipedes (fig. 13), are character¬ 
ized by the presence of two pairs of legs to a segment. 
The largest of our local myriapods belong to this group. 
They live in moist places, feeding primarily on decay¬ 
ing vegetable matter, though a few species occasion¬ 
ally attack growing plants. 
The millipedes are inoffensive and harmless. Julus 
terrestris, and related species, when irritated pour out 
over the entire body a yellowish secretion which escapes 
from cutaneous glands. It is 
volatile, with a pungent odor, 
and Phisalix (1900) has shown 
that it is an active poison when 
Mter Comstock injected into the blood of experi¬ 
mental animals. This, how¬ 
ever, does not entitle 
them to be considered 
as poisonous arthro¬ 
pods, in the sense of this 
chapter, any more than 
the toad can be con¬ 
sidered poisonous to 
man because it secretes 
a venom from its cuta¬ 
neous glands. 
The Chilopoda 
The Chilopoda, or 
centipedes (fig. 14), un¬ 
like the millipedes, are 
predaceous forms, and 
possess well developed 
poison glands for kill¬ 
ing their prey. These 
14. Two common centipedes. 
(a) Lithobius forficatus. (6) Scutigera forceps. Natural 
After Comstock. 
size; after Howard. 
