# A good use for millipedes?



## Heather (Jan 27, 2007)

I just caught this on Animal Planet, and, lo and behold, guess where I found it? 

The narration and musical accompaniment are a little over the top. They can have my centipedes anyday!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzaUA2-nHR4


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## SlipperFan (Jan 27, 2007)

You really like these little critters, don't you??? oke: 
Interesting flick.


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## Heather (Jan 27, 2007)

SlipperFan said:


> You really like these little critters, don't you??? oke:
> Interesting flick.



Lemurs I like! 

Seriously, it reminded me of the Deep Jungle episode about the Brazil Nut Tree and it's symbiotic relationship with other organisms. I think stories of nature that involve these sorts of amazing partnerships are pretty darn cool.


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## SlipperFan (Jan 27, 2007)

Heather said:


> Lemurs I like!
> 
> Seriously, it reminded me of the Deep Jungle episode about the Brazil Nut Tree and it's symbiotic relationship with other organisms. I think stories of nature that involve these sorts of amazing partnerships are pretty darn cool.


It's true. And I think we humans have very little knowledge of the interdependence of all things nature.


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## smartie2000 (Jan 27, 2007)

Geeeez....I just found a whole bunch of millipedes in my paph seedlings pot


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## Heather (Jan 27, 2007)

smartie2000 said:


> Geeeez....I just found a whole bunch of millipedes in my paph seedlings pot



They're freaky, aren't they? I hate finding them in my plants - it's always when your hand is on the roots too. Finding them is pretty rare now that I grow in S/H but I also have house centipedes. I had to sleep on the floor a month or so ago when my sister visited and I thought I was going to die. I haven't seen a pede in a few months but the thought of them in my house makes me completely freak out.


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## smartie2000 (Jan 27, 2007)

Guys...I'm just a little concerned
the millipedes I found are like 1 millimetre thick and 1.5 centimetre long. They are light tan and transluscent and scared of light and movement. I don't usually find millipedes in with wilderness here, nor have my paphs been outside, so they came from my vendor. Are my millipedes gonna harm my paphs? I saw them munching on moist sphag moss and decaying seedling mix.


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## Heather (Jan 27, 2007)

I think millipedes in one's mix are a sign that the mix has broken down and you should repot in the not too distant future. 

The millipedes you are seeing are nothing like the ones in Madagascar, thank god! (I have a good Madagascar roach story if anyone wants to hear it. My lemur thing originated with a primatology class in college. The prof. was a nut. Told great stories. Laurie Godfrey. Great teacher!) 

At any rate, the ones I've found in my plants have always come in w/ the plants in a plant that hadn't been repotted in a while. Repotting seems to get rid of them for good.


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## smartie2000 (Jan 27, 2007)

yeah thank god those don't exsist here! Some people keep as pets though LOL

Some people were telling me these bugs will eat paph root tips. I did check the root tips and they were ok. But I see no one is making a fuss about it yet except for me. I did the repot and found quite a few more millipedes and yes the mix was decaying, thank God I repotted.


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## Heather (Jan 27, 2007)

From what I have heard, they are interested in the media, and the fungus and bacteria that is caused by its breakdown. 

Now that you've repotted, I would not worry. I never saw them in media that wasn't really seriously broken down. 

Now, I will say, house centipedes are carnivores, apparently, so they are looking for yummy things to eat in my media - such as fungus gnats and springtails. I should adore them, but any pede in my house is a bad pede. They're just too damn scary! :sob:


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## smartie2000 (Jan 27, 2007)

centipedes eat millipedes too! yea they freaked me out when I was little and centipedes are everywhere, cuz the books all say they are poisonous. BTW this is the first time I had to deal with millipedes, they just aren't seen in the garden. I have four more seedlings in this type of media...I wonder if they are millipede filled, but the media is newer in these ones


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## IdahoOrchid (Jan 28, 2007)

The way I have located them ( and I have ANOTHER pot from the same vendor as others that have had them ) is by the little circles of poop that are left behind when I pick up the pot. The FOR SURE sign is that when you water ( I water over a bucket ) the water is filled with the poo.


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## smartie2000 (Jan 28, 2007)

:rollhappy: :rollhappy: LOL


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## NYEric (Jan 28, 2007)

The ones I had drowned!


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