The mystery photo that you just saw is group of millipedes.
Like the clue said, millipedes are not insects. They have
many more than 6 legs; in fact, sometimes they have 1,000! The millipedes body
is divided into pairs which means that each segment of the body has two pairs
of legs. The millipedes body is covered in a hard protective shell. This adaption
is one of the ways the millipede survives in the flooded forest.
Millipedes
have poison inside of them, but they are very careful about when to use it. They
have various areas in their bodies where poison is stored. They generally will
only release the poison from the part of the body that is being attacked. If,
however, they are being attacked by a number of predators, the millipede will
release poison from all areas of the body, leaving the predators in a cloud of
poisonous fumes. When all of the poison has been depleted from the millipedes
body, they still have a second line of defense. The millipede has a toxic coating
of poison on its hard exterior shell that repels attackers. Millipedes are definitely
more clever than I thought!
Millipedes can be found hanging out on rotten logs, especially after heavy rainfall
and flooding.
