Log lurker

Euryurus leachii

Eats: Leftovers and dead things Centipedes and millipedesForests and woodsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The log lurker is a millipede from North America. It is a flat-backed millipede, so its body looks a bit flat and wide instead of round like a tube. Like all millipedes, it walks on lots and lots of little legs.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.

Lives in

North America, under logs and leaves in the woods

Top speed

about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless, but do not squeeze it. Many millipedes give off a smelly liquid to protect themselves, so wash your hands after touching one.

What does it eat?

Like other millipedes, it eats dead leaves and rotting wood.

Photo of Log lurker — Picture by Andrew C. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)

Log lurker about 0.2 km/h (0.12 mph)

A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

It is a flat-backed millipede: its back is made of wide, flat plates.

Most of a millipede's body rings have two pairs of legs each.

There are two kinds of log lurker, called subspecies.

you asked

Most asked questions about Log lurker

?Is the log lurker dangerous?

No. Just do not squeeze it, and wash your hands if you touch it.

?Where does the log lurker live?

In North America.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Euryurus leachii
Named by: Gray, 1832
Group: Centipedes and millipedes
Family: Euryuridae
Classification: Diplopoda > Polydesmida > Euryuridae
Lives on: North America
Also known as: Leach's millipede

Where the facts come from

Euryurus leachii (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Andrew C. CC BY 2.0, 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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