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Sticker of Compact flat-backed millipede
Bug card No. 1177 of 4,939

Compact flat-backed millipede

Brachydesmus superus
Eats: Leftovers and dead thingsCentipedes and millipedesGardens and meadowsLots of legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The compact flat-backed millipede is a tiny, pale millipede, only about 1 centimetre long. Its skin is see-through, so you can sometimes see the food in its tummy. It lives in damp fallen leaves and soil in gardens and woods.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.
Lives in
Most of Europe, and now also North America and many islands, in damp gardens and woods
Length
0.7 to 1 cm (0.26 to 0.39 in)
Top speed
about 0.1 km/h (0.06 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a tiny millipede that cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
It eats rotting leaves and other dead plant bits in damp soil. Sometimes it nibbles potatoes and sugar beets too.
For real!Photo of Compact flat-backed millipede
Picture by Diego Delso. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Compact flat-backed millipede about 1 cm long (0.39 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailas long as 1.5 grains of rice in a rowit has about 58 legscould run across a dinner table in 36 seconds

How big is Compact flat-backed millipede compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

A grown-up female has 29 pairs of legs, which is two pairs fewer than most of its relatives.

2

It is one of the millipedes found most often in Britain and Ireland.

3

In Britain it has even been found in caves and in mole nests.

4

People have carried it by accident around the world, all the way to the Juan Fernández Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

5

Farmers do not like it in sugar beet fields, because it can damage the beets.

you asked

Most asked questions about Compact flat-backed millipede

?How many legs does the compact flat-backed millipede have?

An adult female has 29 pairs, so 58 legs. Males have one pair fewer for walking.

?Is the flat millipede harmful?

Not to people. It can damage potatoes and sugar beets, so farmers see it as a pest.

?How big is the flat millipede?

About 6.5 to 10 millimetres long and only about 1 millimetre wide.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Brachydesmus superus
Named by
Latzel, 1884
Group
Centipedes and millipedes
Family
Polydesmidae
Classification
Diplopoda > Polydesmida > Polydesmidae
Lives on
Europe, North America, Africa, South America
Also known as
Flat millipede

Where the facts come from

  1. Brachydesmus superus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Diego Delso. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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