When you turn over over grunge , logs or mulch , doing so might reveal a many - legged creature scuttle to obscure in the drear solid ground . Curious about these creepy - crawlies ? You should be . The more we understand about these insects , the more worthful they become in the gardening plot . Think of centipedes and millepede like teammates working together to deform undesirable pests and waste into rich , fertile soil . Each plays a distinctly disjoined , yet equally crucial role in the dirt - building natural process .
Differences
To say centipedes and millipedes apart , first of all , the names are misleading . A centipede does not have 100 legs , nor does a millipede have 1,000 . If you get confining enough for a good look at their legs , with carefulness , centipedes have one pair of legs per segment ( one on each side ) , while millipedes have two couplet per segment . Centipedes are generally fast and flat , while millipede are more cylindrical and not as straightaway .
Similarities
Although they are line up all over the world in all types of climates , centipedes and millipedes take a damp microhabitat . Their bodies lack a waxy enshroud on their exoskeleton , which other insects and spiders have . Even their ammonia - like smell is a reason they require a moist household ; they excrete atomic number 7 , which requires extra H2O . They are prone to dehydration , which explains why centipede and millepede are normally discoveredunderneaththings such as logs , foliage litter , topsoil and rocks .
Centipedes
centipede are nocturnal carnivorous Orion , well - equipped for the task of paralyzing target with two chela - similar appendages . These modify legs are tipped with spite powerful enough to make a painful , swollen lesion on humans , corresponding to a wasp sting . People with allergies to bee con game should take special precautions . No wonder they are very effective as population control for snail , spiders and any soft - corporal insect such as eats and earthworms .
Who eats centipedes in your garden ? In this case , some of the quarry turn out to be the centipede ’s predators as well . poker , large beetles , spider and snakes as well as the omnivorousopossumcan keep the centipede universe in balance .
Millipedes
With their coalesce wooden leg segments , it would be more precise to call milliped diplopods , after the scientific division name Diplopoda , which imply “ dual foot . ” Even with double the ft , millipedes are generally dull than centipede and easy to trip up . While they present no painful threat to humans , they can have pelt irritation with a toxic accelerator they emit through their pores . It ’s not a near mind to treat them with bare hands . If you were an ant or other small predator , this musky irritant would sting your eyes and disgust you . Primates have been document provoking millipedes , just to use their secretions as natural worm repellant . But do n’t try that at home base !
first-class herbivorous shredders , millipede are some of nature ’s best recyclers . Specifically , they are detritivores , eating all kinds of debris , and pooping out the mineral from leafage litter , grass clippings , food scraps , eat up crop and bushed animate being . They are just one of many players on the erupt - down team , however . Millipedes tear up the parts into smaller theatrical role . Then the essential decomposers in the grunge , such as bacteria and fungi , take over and stick out the compostables into copious territory .
Teamwork
centipede and millipedes play roles that benefit the garden . In the soil food vane , the centipede is the top marauder , and the orotund terrestrial invertebrate . Comparable to the Panthera tigris of the rainforest or the orca whale of the ocean , this apex position holds bang-up power in the stability of the community . The top vulture limits populations of small animals , which in turn affect the whole ecosystem .
The distant congenator of the centipede , the milliped plays an important role , even if it is less dramatic . If you live in a position without fishing worm , the millipede can fill their recess . Not only are they responsible for break up as much as 10 percent of the leaf litter in a garden , they benefit other dirt microorganism that work intimately together to turn rubble into alimentary - rich territory .
D Coetzee/Flickr
