PHYLUM ARTHROPODA. PERIPATUS, CENTIPEDES, AND MILLIPEDES 



227 



Genital opening 

 ■Antenna 



Abdominal segment 

 showing two pairs 

 of legs 



OM 



Figure 128. A millipede, the name means "thousand-legged" but there are never that many 

 legs. Millipedes are shy animals which hide in dark places to avoid the light. They can easily 

 be distinguished from centipedes by the subcylindrical body and the two pairs of legs on most 

 segments. 



decaying vegetable matter, but sometimes 

 on living plants, and may thus be destructive 

 to gardens. The sexes are separate, and the 

 eggs are laid in a nest made of damp earth. 

 The young have 6 segments and only three 

 pairs of legs when they hatch, and resemble 



wingless insects. Other segments are added 

 just in front of the anal segment at succes- 

 sive molts during growth. Common exam- 

 ples of this class are Spirobolus and Julus; 

 the latter occurs all over the United States, 

 especially in meadows and gardens. 



