QuestionGiant African millipede
What Do Millipedes Eat? Leaf Litter, Rotting Wood and Fungi
Millipedes eat mainly dead plant material: fallen leaves, rotting wood and the fungi and bacteria growing on them. They are detritivores, animals that feed on decaying matter, and play a key role in recycling nutrients on the forest floor. A few species also nibble living plants, fungi or, rarely, small dead animals.
Contents
What do millipedes eat in the wild?
Millipedes live in leaf litter, soil, rotting logs and other damp places, and their food is usually right around them. The typical millipede diet includes:
- Fallen leaves that have been softened by rain, fungi and bacteria
- Decaying wood, especially soft, moist logs and stumps
- Fungi and molds growing on dead plant matter
- Rotting fruit and other soft plant debris
- Animal droppings and organic matter mixed with soil, eaten by some species
Most millipedes prefer leaves that have already started to decompose. Fresh leaves are often tough and loaded with defensive chemicals such as tannins, while older ones are softer and covered with microbes that add protein to the meal. That is why millipedes are most numerous in the deeper, moister layers of leaf litter.
How do millipedes help forests and soil?
Millipedes are among the most important recyclers of dead leaves. Individual species have been estimated to consume from about 1 to 11 percent of all leaf litter that falls each year, depending on species and region, and in moist temperate forests they can reach densities of over 1,000 per square meter (about 90 per square foot).
Their strong jaws cut leaves into small pieces. Much of what they eat passes through the gut only partly digested and comes out as tiny pellets packed with leaf fragments, fungi and bacteria. These pellets have a much larger surface area than whole leaves, so microbes can break them down far more quickly. In this way millipedes speed up the release of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that plants need.
Many millipedes also burrow, mixing organic matter into the mineral soil. Where earthworms are scarce, as in some tropical forests, millipedes take over much of this soil-building work.
Do millipedes eat living plants?
Most do not, but there are exceptions. A few species can damage crops, especially in damp conditions:
| Species | Where | What it eats |
|---|---|---|
| Spotted snake millipede (Blaniulus guttulatus) | Europe; introduced elsewhere | Roots and tubers such as sugar beet and potatoes, often entering through existing damage |
| Greenhouse millipede (Oxidus gracilis) | Worldwide in greenhouses and gardens | Mostly decaying matter; occasionally tender seedlings |
| Black Portuguese millipede (Ommatoiulus moreleti) | Native to Portugal; introduced to Australia | Mainly leaf litter; can feed on soft fruit and seedlings |
In greenhouses and gardens, millipedes are often found on fruit or roots that were already damaged by slugs, insects or rot. They are attracted to the soft, decaying tissue rather than to healthy plants.
Do millipedes eat fungi or meat?
Some millipedes specialize in fungi. Members of the order Platydesmida, such as the social millipede Brachycybe lecontii of the eastern United States, feed on fungi growing on rotting wood, and the noodle millipedes in the photo above are grazing mold in a Malaysian rainforest. The tiny bristle millipedes graze algae and microbes from tree bark.
Meat is rare on the menu. A few species in the orders Callipodida and Chordeumatida occasionally eat insects, centipedes, earthworms or snails, often dead ones. Unlike centipedes, though, no millipede has venom or hunts actively. Some cave millipedes even filter tiny food particles from flowing water. For a side-by-side look at the very different diets of these two groups, see centipede vs millipede.
What does the giant African millipede eat?
The giant African millipede, the largest living species at up to about 33.5 cm (13.2 in), eats the same kind of food as its smaller relatives, just more of it. In the lowland forests of East Africa it feeds on decaying leaves, soft rotting wood and fallen fruit, and is an important decomposer of the forest floor.
Despite its size, it is a gentle plant-debris eater. It cannot bite people, and it relies on curling up and releasing irritating chemicals to deter predators, as explained in Are millipedes poisonous?.
Why do millipedes need calcium?
Most millipedes have hard body rings strengthened with calcium salts. Building this armor requires calcium from their food and surroundings. In Europe, many millipede species are more common on chalk and limestone soils, where calcium is plentiful, than on acidic soils.
Millipedes also recycle calcium from their own bodies. After molting, most species eat their discarded exoskeleton, recovering some of the minerals it contains. Young millipedes molt many times as they add new segments and legs, so this habit saves them a lot of calcium.
How do millipedes find food?
Millipedes have poor eyesight; many species are blind. They find food mainly by touch and smell, using their short antennae, which tap the ground constantly and carry sensory cones at the tip. They are most active at night and after rain, when the ground is moist and they can move around without drying out.
Frequently asked questions
Do millipedes eat living plants?
Mostly not. The great majority eat dead and decaying plant matter. A few species, such as the spotted snake millipede in Europe, also feed on roots, seedlings and soft fruit, especially where the plants are already damaged.
Do millipedes eat insects?
Very rarely. Millipedes are almost all plant-debris eaters. A few species in two orders occasionally feed on small dead or living animals such as insects, earthworms or snails, but none hunt the way centipedes do.
Are millipedes decomposers?
Yes, they are among the most important decomposers of the forest floor. By shredding dead leaves and wood into small pieces, they make it much easier for fungi and bacteria to finish the job and return nutrients to the soil.
Why do millipedes need calcium?
Most millipedes have hard body rings reinforced with calcium salts. They obtain calcium from their food and soil, and many eat their old exoskeleton after molting, which helps them recover some of it.
Do millipedes drink water?
Millipedes take in water from moist food and damp surroundings and can drink from droplets. Because they lose water easily through their breathing holes, most must live in humid places such as leaf litter, soil and rotting logs.
Sources and further reading
- Hopkin, S. P. and Read, H. J., The Biology of Millipedes (Oxford University Press, 1992)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Millipede"
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, "Archispirostreptus gigas"
Cite this page
“What Do Millipedes Eat? Leaf Litter, Rotting Wood and Fungi.” Animal Atlas, https://animals.bigworldlist.com/questions/what-do-millipedes-eat/.
