Today's bug of the week has its own built in supply of poison.
Andrew Luoma sent in a picture of a black and yellow millipede he spotted near Sidney that was between eight and 10 cm long.
And the insect in question has a unique defence mechanism – it exudes hydrogen cyanide.
The website Cool Green Science says the critter is known as the almond-scented millipede (the smell of cyanide) or the cyanide millipede.
“If you were to pick up a yellow-spotted millipede, it would likely curl into a spiral and exude hydrogen cyanide on you, accompanied by the strong scent of toasted almonds (that’s the smell of cyanide).
“The amount secreted by an individual millipede is not enough to seriously harm a human, though it may stain the skin or burn and blister if you’re sensitive (wash your hands if you handle one). This amount is lethal, however, to birds and rodents.
“Similar cyanide producing millipedes in the Appalachians can produce 18 times the amount of the toxin needed to kill a pigeon. The threat is enough to protect these abundant arthropods from most predators (they do have a beetle nemesis).”
Scientists found the millipedes are immune to cyanide and are able to process it and convert it into harmless chemicals.
“Despite their abundance and importance, millipedes remain understudied. 12,000 species of millipedes have been identified globally, but estimates of the true number of species out there on Earth range from 15,000 to 80,000.”
BC millipede secretes cyanide when attacked, but not enough to do any real harm to humans - Vernon News - Castanet.net
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