Habits developed in our formative years often stay with us for life and as a kid I could never resist turning over logs and stones to see what lurked underneath - and now, over half a century later, I still can't. I found these two millipedes under a rotting beech log yesterday. The first is the flat-backed millipede Polydesmus complanatus, which superficially looks like a centipede but if you look closely you can convince yourself that it has the millipede's trademark two-pairs-of-legs-per-segment. Flat-backed millipedes have a reputation for being fond of strawberries, which doesn't endear them to gardeners.
The second is the aptly-named snake millipede Cylindroiulus punctatus, coiled up like a serpent.
There is a wondertful YouTube sequence of rather more spectacular species of millipede featured in David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth series here.
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