North American Millipede - Narceus americanus

North American Millipede!
Narceus americanus
Family: Spirobolidae

OK, this is my first naturalist blog entry, so, here goes.

If you've spent much time strolling the rich forests of the Eastern US, you've probably come across these cuties.  This is the Arthropod of Arthropods.  Arthropods comprise the vast majority of animal species; they are characterized, among other features, by their segmented limbs and other body parts.  In most Arthropods, an observer has to venture to look close in order to notice the segmentation. Not with Narceus.  Rule of thumb: if you can't pick out the hyper-segmentation of this elongate creature, visit your optometrist.

Over the years of doing nature walks with people, I generally get two questions upon finding this species or one of its evolutionary cousins.
1) Is it an insect?
No, but insects are also Arthropods, as are spiders, crabs, shrimps, ticks, etc.  Insects are characterized by having three pair of legs, three bods segments, and (usually) two pair of wings.  So, Narceus is certainly not an insect...no wings, no obvious 3-sectioned body form, and for legs, well, though there is much variation among species, feel free to try counting all their pairs of squirmy appendages - not three.  "How many licks DOES it take to get to the tootsie-role-center of a tootsie-pop" comes to mind.
2) Can it sting?
No, it's a Millipede.  Put more scientifically, it's a Diplopod (translated to two-foot).  Wait just a minute! This thing has way more than two feet!  Look closely.  If an observer flips over a Diplopod, and looks at the legs closely, they will notice that, except for the first three pairs of legs, every subsequent body segment is accompanied by two pair of legs.  However, I must give the warning now.  People ask me about stinging because they are mistaking this animal for it's distant relation - the Centipede (Chiropod).  Chiropods have modified front legs that function like stings of scorpions.  It can really hurt.  I was once sleeping comfortably to the soothing waves of a Hawaiian coastline, when I was suddenly awakened by the sting of the infamous, introduced Giant Centipede.  It hurt for two weeks.

At this point, usually while interpreting the Millipede from my hand, people often say something like "so this thing isn't dangerous?"  Yes and No.  It certainly isn't venomous, as is a Centipede, Rattlesnake, or Yellow Jacket.  It is likely, however, poisonous, like a poisonous mushroom.  In other words, don't eat it.  Just imagine, this creature cannot fight, and realistically cannot even run away, and lives in habitats where generalist predators like rats might be abundant.  These sweet little guys create their own rat poison.  Literally sweet, they have a smell similar to cherries, or some say Dr. Pepper.  Usually, the rat poison of choice is Cyanide (CN).  Narceus, though, creates different compounds collectively known as benzoquinones.  These chemicals can irritate skin and eyes of would-be predators, and naturalists.

One more extremely exciting fact about Narceus, and other Millipedes - they eat dead and decaying plant matter.  OK, not that exciting, but thank goodness they do!  I personally prefer to walk in woods with a healthy rate of decomposition versus one with leaves piled higher than my head.