Millipedes Mating

Sometimes taking a look at the smaller things can be very interesting and something that we take tend to overlook are the strange creatures called millipedes! We see how they move around and are fascinated by their hundreds of legs. Even though their name means thousands, they can have up to about 400 legs in total, 2 pairs per segment. And one thing we never really think about is: how do these creatures mate? This is quite an interesting process – the male has a modified pair of legs on the seventh segment of the body known as the Gonopods which he uses to insert sperm inside the female. What they do is ejaculate, then put these Gonopods into the ejaculate to cover them with the blueish fluid. These are then inserted into the female’s Vulvae which consist of tiny fleshy bits on the second segment of the females exoskeleton and the sperm is thus deposited inside the female. BUT this does not fertilize the eggs, it’s just to store the sperm! The female then seals her Vulvae with a secretion to keep the sperm inside of her. After this the two will separate and she will go to find an ideal area of compacted dirt to lay her eggs underneath the ground and, if needs be, cover them with her own faeces. Only then are the eggs fertilized with the sperm that she has been storing. She will then either simply leave the eggs or wait around until they hatch before she leaves. The eggs usually hatch after about 3 months – the same gestation period as a leopard. There are usually between 20 and 300 eggs laid which is understandable considering they are preyed upon by many animals. After the eggs hatch the young millipedes must try to survive on their own. These small creatures can live up to a ripe old age of about 10 years!

Report by Brendan