#Xystodesmidae

[jupiterswasphouse]

[PHOTOS TAKEN: JUNE 3RD, 2024 | Image IDs: Four photos of a large, black and beige Xystodesmid millipede on a human hand, illuminated by an outdoor light in the night /End IDs.]

One of the biggest and most beautiful millipedes I've seen! Likely only second to the American Giant in terms of what I've encountered- Absolutely fascinating! Not to mention strange to feel walking on your skin

[herpsandbirds]

Black-and-gold Flat Millipede (Apheloria virginiensis), family Xystodesmidae, eastern U.S.

Poisonous.

photograph by Erin Huggins/USFWS

[paintbrusher]

[wasppilled]

Saw a bug friend on my hike today! Thought you might appreciate him ^-^

Whoa, I do appreciate him!! That looks like a millipede in the family Xystodesmidae, which are super cool- a lot of the members of that family actually secrete cyanide as a defense mechanism! Not enough to be deadly to humans or anything, but enough to deter other animals that might try to eat them. Super cool! It's thanks to them I have a firsthand experience of what cyanide smells like (I picked one up and it did in fact secrete cyanide. people were right it does smell like almonds)

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

Range: Southeast Alaska to California

[onenicebugperday]

@theonewiththesoks submitted: I have so many new friends to introduce to you!!!

The only species I’m not sure about is the one in the video which was taken in northern South Carolina at Brookgreen Gardens.

Speaking of which I don’t think I shared the insect hotel from the gardens this year so forgive me if I resubmit it! I also saw the cross section of a live beehive between glass panels again this year which I think may have been my first ever submission to your blog! (BG is very bug friendly in case you haven’t noticed lol, they’re huge into nature preservation and education)

I didn’t realize that lovely horsefly was female until after I took her picture and saw the distance between her eyes. Thankfully she accepted my gift of a dandelion but she was less grateful for the sip of water I poured out beside her on a rock.

PS I learned about Toxeus magnus recently and how they nurse their spiderlings, it’s so so cute! Highly recommend you look into it if you haven’t heard of them yet :’)

An excellent group of friends! I don't think I saw the insect hotel before but it's a fun idea. The fly is not a horse fly but you're right that it is a female! The slug is huge and beautiful. The fellow in the video is a flat-backed millipede, likely in Xystodesmidae, but I couldn't say which species exactly. And I did know about Toxeus magnus nursing its young :)

[urbancaveevacuation]

Kentucky flat millipede (Apheloria virginiensis), family Xystodesmidae, order polydesmida, North Carolina

[xrinsu]

little creature I found last night scuttling in the rain. i believe they are part of the cherry millepede family (Xystodesmidae), probably in the genus Dicellarius. image id in alt text.

[kennethjhenseler]

Ava picked up a flat-backed millipede that she and Alicia found at the Spillway Overlook, Broken Bow Lake, OK. Seems to be a Xystodesmidae family of millipede and am awaiting a confirmed ID. That’s only 80 legs, by the way. 🐛 #brokenbowoklahoma #brokenbowlake #spillwayoverlook #millipede #arthropod #diplopoda #polydesmida #xystodesmidae (at Broken Bow Spillway) https://www.instagram.com/p/COY83jDnocP/?igshid=177etlu4nfbtp

[buggbi]

✨Arthropoda Orders✨

Insecta and Arachnida orders link to other nav posts, everything else is a direct tag link!

(☞︎☞︎☞︎= Families)

arthropoda tag

Class Insecta

🪳 Blattodea

🐞 Coleoptera

🪲 Hemiptera

🐝 Hymenoptera

🦋 Lepitoptera

🌱 Mantodea

🦗 Orthoptera

🪰 Diptera

🐟 Zygentoma

Class Aracnida

🕸 Araneae

🕷 Opiliones

Class Diplopoda

🪱 Spirostreptida

☞︎☞☞︎ spirostreptidae

🐛 Polydesmida

☞︎☞︎☞︎ xystodesmidae

[herpsandbirds]

Found this guy in SW Pennsylvania, near Dunbar, not sure who he is:

Millipede Friend

I believe it is most like the common...

Black-and-gold Flatback Millipede (Apheloria virginiensis), family Xystodesmidae

[haveyouseenthisanimal-irl]

List of Families within Polydesmida I’ve covered (each link leads to the tags for each family):

Xystodesmidae

[onenicebugperday]

@caterpillarsalad​ submitted: i live in the southern east coast of the USA. i’ve been seeing these millipedes everywhere but apps like inaturalist cant give me a good answer.

I can’t either, really! These dudes can be hard to tell apart. I can tell you it’s a flat-backed millipede (polydesmid), and probably in the family Xystodesmidae. :)