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The log pile · Centipedes, millipedes and woodlice
White-legged snake millipede
Tachypodoiulus niger
A glossy black, tube-shaped animal with about a hundred white legs that ripple along its sides.
- Size
- Up to 5cm long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Leaf litter, under bark and on walls and tree trunks at night
My spotter's list
Flows after you on a wave of legs. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the millipede
LegsNot a thousand legs
It has about a hundred. Until 2021, no millipede had been found with a thousand.
WaveLegs that move in waves
The legs lift and fall in ripples that run along the body, which gives it pushing power.
CoilIt coils like a spring
When disturbed it curls into a flat spiral, with its soft legs tucked inside.
JumpIt can flick away
This kind can also thrash and flick itself about to escape.
FoodIt eats dead leaves
It chews rotting leaves and wood, and helps to turn them into soil.
ClimbA night climber
After dark it climbs walls and tree trunks to graze on algae and moss.
The real thing
Photos of the millipede
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Look under loose bark and in the leaf litter. On a damp night, shine a torch up a garden wall. Take an adult with you.
Lend a handHow to help
A layer of dead leaves under shrubs is food and shelter. There is no need to clear it.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
Pond and stream bugs live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond and stream
The log pile
After dark
Bugs from other parts of the world live on their own pages: choose another.
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