Millipedes/Centipedes

[pavel]

Neither should pose a danger to your plant. Most millipedes ... particularly those in the northern areas of the US are detritivores -- feeding on dead and decaying matter. As Kevin mentioned, centipedes are predatory. Those we have in the north are not going to bite.

[Dazed]

Well you guys are a lucky bunch cause the centipedes in these parts are large and mean, especially females that are in the procreating mood.

[Daethen]

Thanks for all the input everyone. These were only an inch or so long. I'm still debating on if I want to let my visitors stay of not.

[orchidsal]

I saw your post yesterday (Thursday) Jonada and thought to myself gee there is one pest I am glad I don't have, especially after reading Tamara's first post here. After watering my Encyclia Cocheata (Octopus Orchid) today what crawls out of the moss but two centipedes/millipedes............................Who would of thunk it! AL

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I googled just to know what they looked like and thought this might help:

Millipede


Centipede


There are many 'varieties' of these two, but I think this helps me be able to tell the difference more quickly.

cheers,
BD

[Dazed]

Thanks Bruce, they look like the ones in my region. Still and yet the Barbadian pedes are small in comparison to the Trinidadian and Guyanise types. The largest domestic centipede I've come face to face with was 12 inches and that one bit my mother, even the inch long juveniles are biters, trust me on that one. . Another large centipede got me on the toe but I only got a glimpse of it cause these buggards are fast, millipedes are the 'I'll get there when I get there' type. That's normally a tell tale sign of who's a predator and who a scavenger from what I'm told, not sure how correct that is.

Ain't NOBODY rich enough to pay me to put one of these things on myself.

[yvonni]

Was this really necessary Bruce and Tamara ? They are just absolutely icky ...really . I could do without seeing them .

[yvonni]

Daethen .... I would say KILL them !!!! Kill them all !!!

[Daethen]

Thanks to those pics I am now very sorry that I started this thread. EEEEWWWWW. And I agree that I could not be paid enough to put that on me! Pretty sure I have centipedes. They were only an inch long thankfully.

[serama]

And here comes the science lesson of the day :

Both centipedes and millipedes come in sizes that range from less than 1 inch to nearly 12 inches, so size is not the way to tell them apart. Millipedes are round in cross section, like a long thin tube with many, MANY, small short legs underneath. Centipedes are flat in cross section and have fewer legs that are quite strong and big in comparison. As has been mentioned, millipedes only eat dead and decaying plant material. They can't process cellulose themselves and need bacteria to break it down first, that's why they don't eat live vegetable matter. They will not harm your orchids but will happily munch on the decaying bark in your pots. Centipedes are predatory and will eat anything small that they can overpower, so they should be welcome in your greenhouse.

Tamara is right though, the easiest way of telling them apart (if you don't fancy getting up and close to the little critters) is to watch them move. Millipedes are similar to tortoises, extremely slow and when they feel in danger they coil up into a flat round shape. Centipedes are like cheetahs, they move like lightning and will scurry away at great speed when they feel threatened (except the really large tropical ones, which will happily stand their ground relying on their VERY painful bite for protection ... but luckily we don't get those in our dreary cold northern climes).