I posted a photo of woodlice and a millipede before the holidays but then I realised that I didn’t know much about these creatures, so I looked them up and this is what I discovered:
- Woodlice are more closely related to crabs than insects.
- Woodlice have 14 legs and they breath through ‘lungs’ on their hind legs.
- Woodlice are nocturnal and live in dark, damp areas.
- Woodlice feed mainly on rotted vegetation and are great for compost.
- Woodlice do not damage wood in people’s homes.
Millipedes
- Millipedes are known as ‘thousand leggers’ but they usually have only a few hundred legs.
- Millipedes have 2 pairs of legs on each body segment (first body segment lacks legs).
- Millipedes have 6 body parts when born and increase number of segments and legs each time they moult.
- Millipedes are decomposers – they eat plant remains and poo!
- Millipedes have existed on planet earth for 428 million years. They are the first organisms that managed to leave the water and start successful life on land.
I hope you like my facts about woodlice and millipedes. Mrs. Madden.
