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Sticker of Black and gold flat millipede
Bug card No. 0113 of 1,500

Black and gold flat millipede

Apheloria virginiensis
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsCentipedes and millipedesForests and woodsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

This millipede has a shiny black back with bright yellow spots along its sides. Some have pink or orange spots instead. When it is scared, it makes a smell like cherries or almonds to tell hungry animals to stay away.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.
Lives in
North Carolina and Virginia in the USA, in leafy forests
Length
2.7 to 5.9 cm (1.1 to 2.3 in)
females are usually bigger than males
Top speed
about 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
It cannot bite or sting. Its cherry smell is a weak poison, so wash your hands after touching one.
What does it eat?
It munches old fallen leaves and rotting wood on the forest floor. That helps turn dead plants back into soil.
For real!Photo of Black and gold flat millipede
Picture by NCBioTeacher. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Black and gold flat millipede about 5.9 cm long (2.3 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 10 grains of rice in a rowas long as 2 toy building bricks in a rowcould run across a dinner table in 15 seconds

How big is Black and gold flat millipede compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

A grown-up female has 31 pairs of legs and a male has 30 pairs. That is about 60 legs.

2

Its body is made of 20 rings, one after another like a little train.

3

It was the very first millipede from North America that scientists ever described, back in 1770.

4

It hides under rotting leaves and logs in the day, often close to streams. After dark it sometimes goes for a walk on forest trails.

5

Its bright colours are a warning sign that says: I taste bad.

you asked

Most asked questions about Black and gold flat millipede

?Is the black and gold flat millipede poisonous?

It makes a little bit of poison that smells like cherries, but far too little to hurt people. Just wash your hands after holding it.

?How many legs does this millipede have?

Adults have about 60 legs: 62 for females and 60 for males.

?How big is it?

It grows to about 3 to 6 centimetres long, a big size for a millipede.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Apheloria virginiensis
Named by
Drury, 1770
Group
Centipedes and millipedes
Family
Xystodesmidae
Classification
Diplopoda > Polydesmida > Xystodesmidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Virginia cherry millipede, Yellow and black flat millipede

Where the facts come from

  1. Apheloria virginiensis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by NCBioTeacher. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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