i8o THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



Class III. MYRIAPODA Centipedes. 



Centipedes and Millipedes are to be found in the earth, under stones and 

 logs, amongst grass, and in many other places. There are more than fifty 

 species to be found in England ; but little is known of them, as they have 

 not been studied to any great extent. They are worm-shaped creatures, and 

 breathe by means of air tubes. The Centipedes have flattened bodies, divided 

 into many segments, with a pair of legs on each segment, the first pair being 

 modified into piercing poison organs, with which they seize their prey. They 

 are swift and ferocious, feeding on worms, flies, and larvae. One species 

 (Geophilus electricus) emits light in the dark like a glow-worm ; but, unlike 

 that insect, leaves a slight trail upon the ground behind it. 



The commonest is the Eed Centipede (LithoUus forficatus), often found 

 under stones. It has fifteen pairs of legs, and possesses eyes. It attacks 

 worms, pursuing them, like a weasel, down their burrows. I have kept this 

 species for a long time in a case containing damp earth, feeding them on insects 

 and worms. When the female lays an egg, she grasps it in two small hooks 

 on her under surface, and rolls it round and round on the earth till it is covered 

 with soil. This is done to disguise it from the male, which would otherwise 

 devour it. In fact, on occasion the female has to run away from the male 

 with her egg to reach some secure spot, where she can deposit it and cover 

 it with earth. 



Millipedes have rounded bodies and very numerous legs for example, 

 the Common Snake Millipede has ninety-nine pairs ! They are slow-moving 

 creatures, feeding entirely on vegetable diet ; they possess along the body 

 certain " stink-glands," through which they can emit an unpleasant smell, 

 presumably to ward off animals or birds eager to devour them. 



One of the most common, Julus terrustris, is miscalled the WIRE-WORM, 

 a name that belongs really to the larva of the CLICK BEETLE (which see). It 

 can be kept under observation, using for food slices of apple, grass, etc. When 

 alarmed, it rolls itself into a ring and feigns death. In early summer the 

 female makes a " nest," consisting of a hollow ball of particles of earth, 

 glued together by a sticky secretion, about as large as a small acorn, and 

 placed if possible under ground. Through a small hole in the top she passes 

 from sixty to one hundred eggs, which are covered with some sticky fluid, 

 and thus adhere together. Then she closes the hole and leaves the eggs 

 to hatch, which they do in about twelve days. At first they possess but three 

 pairs of legs, but each time they moult they increase the number of segments 

 and limbs. The Wire-worms may be distinguished from Centipedes by the 

 absence of any poison claws as well as by the rounded body. 



