Millipede Mating Season

Millipedes on a tree stump with fungi, Schenley Park, 28 June 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 30 June 2026 Last Sunday in Schenley Park we discovered that right now it’s Millipede Mating Season in southwestern Pennsylvania. Millipede mating habits are so fascinating that I had to look into it. First off, millipedes are not insects; they have a lot more than six legs. Their class Diplopoda contains 13,000 species, all of which have two pairs of jointed legs per body segment. The number of body segments varies a lot from short pill millipedes to Eumillipes persephone which can have over 1,300 legs. Their name literally means “thousand feet” but most millipedes have far fewer. Count the body segments (but not the head) and multiply by 4. The ones in my photos have less than 100 legs. They appear to be greenhouse millipedes (Oxidus gracilis) which were originally from Asia and are now invasive in North America. The name “greenhouse” comes from the fact that they thrive in greenhouses where…