More tales from the compost bin: millipedes

Another player from the cast of thousands whose daily dramas are played out in our compost heap - in this case ....

.... a flat-backed millipede Polydesmus angustus, going head-to-head with a springtail. Flat-backed millipedes feed on rotting plant material so the springtail isn't under serious threat...... unless it's about to be trampled by a large number of feet.

Flat-backed millipedes are very good climbers - this one climbed the near-vertical outer wall of the plastic compost bin with no difficulty.