centipede

Dreyseth@aol.com
Thu, 21 Nov 1996 15:15:05 -0500

Thank you, Loren, for responding, and trying to correct my error. However I
am not entirely convinced that what I had was a millipede. After reading
your descriptions of centipedes and millipedes I remembered that I had saved
an example of one of the creatures that I found dead (to later draw sketches
of). It is very flat, with a rectangular cross section; it has two very
sharp looking apendages or claws attached near the back of the head that
curve down and around the sides to end at the mouth like mandibles; it
appears to have two pairs of medium-length legs per body segment (26 legs) if
viewed from the top, but only one pair if viewed from the bottom side (twice
as many segments are visible); the creature is brownish rust in color.

I am not knowledgeable in this area, but it seems closer to your description
of centipedes, yet it was definitely eating dead and dry plant matter. Maybe
I am wrong in this instance, but individuals do not always behave as one
would predict, especially in a stressful environment.
Spiders that I have found trapped in the house (and presumeably starving)
hungrily consume the nectar of D. muscipula; although, as you pointed out,
that they too are strictly carnivorous.

Let me know what you think.
I may have to do some library research now to find some answers.

Kerry Tyler, from Minnesota