When the rains come, the Millipedes (Atta in Malayalam language) get really active in Kerala...
They look more threatening than they actually are. Here are some trivia I got from wikipedia:
- Millipedes do not bite, and their defensive secretions are mostly harmless to humans – usually causing only minor discoloration on the skin – but the secretions of some tropical species may cause pain, itching and occasionally cracked skin.
- Many species also emit various foul-smelling liquid secretions through microscopic ozopores, along the sides of their bodies as a secondary defence. These secretions may include alkaloids, benzoquinones, phenols, terpenoids, and/or hydrogen cyanide, among many others.
- Some can result in home invasions, crop damage, train delays, or even train crashes and derailments.
- Some of the larger millipedes are popular as pets.
- Millipedes also appear in folklore and traditional medicine around the world. In the Yoruba culture of Nigeria, millipedes are used in pregnancy and business rituals, and crushed millipedes are used to treat fever, whitlow, and convulsion in children.
- In Zambia, smashed millipede pulp is used to treat wounds, and in the Bafia people of Cameroon millipede juice is used to treat earaches.
- In certain Himalayan Bhotiya tribes, dry millipede smoke is used to treat hemorrhoids.
- Native people in Malyasia use millipede secretions in poison-tipped arrows.
- The only reported usage of millipedes as food by humans comes from the Bobo people of Burkina Faso, who consume boiled, dried millipedes in tomato sauce.
Ohhhh Nice !
ReplyDeleteNice shot and very nice data on them too. I too was under the impression that they are poisonous.
ReplyDeleteGreat shot and thanks for supplying the interesting information.
ReplyDeletefascinating creatures!
ReplyDeleteShiny! I'd rather photograph them than eat them! http://lauriekazmierczak.com/sky-eye/
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, they contain also many chemical substances that are not investigated for medical purposes.
ReplyDeleteA "Yikes!" shot but also very interesting in its composition.
ReplyDeleteFascinating creatures, but I'm glad we don't have big mills in where I live in Florida.
ReplyDeleteWow! I didn't know any of those things. I have to admit that they do creep me out a bit but I'm sure that's silliness on my part though I cannot imagine keeping one as a pet!
ReplyDelete:-)
Traci
Fascinating...not that I would want one slithering over me!
ReplyDeleteFly and Shadows
Gasp! I have a phobia about things like this..... I'll credit you with a nice shot, though I had to quickly scroll past.
ReplyDeleteThe are neat critters. Amazing photo. Thank you for sharing your post on Saturday's Critters.. Have a happy day!
ReplyDeleteOnce we pulled out some bedding that had been in a closet for a long time, and there was a millipede on it! As long as they're outside I'm ok, but I don't want to share a bed with one.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo and info on the millipede. There are large ones in the rain forests in the Olympic peninsula. Some can get fair-sized in my yard, perhaps 1/4", 6-7mm, in diameter and 3", 7.6cm, long. Today when clearing a bed for vegetables, I probably saw about a dozen very small ones, all curled up. I throw them into a bed of perennials away from my digging.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, Shiju, I want none of these creatures anywhere near me.
ReplyDeleteI am sure this offering has photographic merit but it makes me cringe and reminds me of your leech tale!
Great shot, but anything that crawls gives me the creeps, lol. I do love the details especially the orange things on them. First time for me to really look at one up close, in picture or in person. :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome shot!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully creepy!!!
ReplyDeleteI hate them. We have Portuguese millipedes where we are and they stink, are attracted by light and invade our houses and crawl into fruit in the garden and when you bite into a fig, you get the stench and awful taste of them. Yuck.
ReplyDeleteFascinating facts - but they still creep me out!
ReplyDeleteArrghhh! interesting though ;-)
ReplyDeleteA little creepy, yet beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWow, very good to know. I was under the impresion that they did bite, do you know if there are different types millipedes?
ReplyDeleteInteresting image!!! But your facts give me the creeps!!! I know I get ear aches, but no thanks to the millipede mush as a treatment!!!
ReplyDeleteCreepy but cool shot! Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteUh, not my kind of creature, but a wonderful picture.
ReplyDeleteI like all the tiny legs…great picture!
ReplyDeleteEven though they aren't dangerous, I'll still let you keep your creepy crawly things.
ReplyDeletehttp://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2014/05/ww-wordless-wednesday-tug-of-war.html
My skin is crawling now just thinking about these critters...by far not my favorite that had to crawl along the earth with me! All that aside...the photo is incredible!
ReplyDelete~Happy WW
Very interesting but YUCK! :)
ReplyDeleteI am not going to put tomato sauce on one and eat it but to each their own. If the Bobo people like just go ahead eat as many as you like.
ReplyDeleteJM Illinois, U.S.A.
Amazing shot #WW
ReplyDeleteGreat shot. Interesting background info.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo of the creepy crawly little thing!
ReplyDeleteThere are now two snakes and one Millepede on MoM this week! Great pic of an interesting creature. Thanks for sharing on Mandarin Orange Monday:)
ReplyDelete