Every time when I say I want to show you some creepy crawlies people are expecting spiders and snakes but no one will expect these.

I think these are creepier than spiders.

Shongololo, The Giant African Millipede

these are the African giant millipedes.

when i was in south Africa local people called them an interesting name shongololo they told me it means a train it’s a luxury way to travel millipedes are generally smaller way smaller than this this is the world’s largest species of millipede

How many legs do they have? 

they’re named milli-pede but actually they don’t have that many legs as the name suggests

so different species have different numbers of legs the african giant millipedes usually have 256 legs

so they have 64 segments on each segment there are two pairs of legs

this is the head you can see two antennae

it feels satisfying when they’re crawling on your hand so many legs tickling you at the same time amazing creature so they live in the forests rainforests and dry forests

I have seen them in a lot of different places in Africa 

they can be living on the ground many people think they are burrowers but actually i have seen them climbing trees they can climb very well

if you’re new to these animals you may be confused 

How to tell the difference between a centipede and a millipede?

they can look very similar to most people especially when you see one in the wild when they’re moving quickly when they move quickly that’s usually a centipede because millipedes are slow they are not fast at all usually millipedes are smaller but because these are the largest millipedes so they get this big they’re usually a lot smaller they’re usually just like this

and if you can take a close look it’s easier to identify you can look at the legs so these are millipedes they have their legs underneath the body centipedes have their legs on the side

and you don’t want to handle a centipede bare hand because centipedes are venomous millipedes are harmless

They’re actually very good for the ecosystem

they are herbivores they eat plants

the feces is very good for the plants that’s a fertilizer and also they clean up the floor of the rainforest by eating all the fallen rotten fruits

just like a janitor so the ecosystem needs these animals to clean up the environment wow amazing look how they move they don’t move all the legs at the same time

and the legs movement looks like waves

Symbiosis

i’m not sure if i can show the camera it’s too small if you look closely you can see tiny little bugs on their body so that is actually very common those are mites but don’t be scared those mites are not the mites that live in a mammal’s body those are different kinds of mites they live on the body of a millipede and they’re actually good for each other so the mites will eat the leftover food from the millipede’s body so they can get food and they clean up the millipede’s body

so they are in a symbiotic relationship they’re helping each other living peacefully together

It is a perfect example of misunderstood animals 

most people when they look at them they think oh gross scary creepy but actually they are peaceful harmless clean animals that actually help the ecosystem

the world is full of misunderstanding

i hope you have learned something help spread the words and let more people understand the good side of these animals we do need them in our world i’ll let them go

it’s also very satisfying looking at them just walking.

Teachers React To Our Creepy Crawlers

Helping People Overcome Fear Of The Bugs They Had Never Touched

Millipedes are harmless, but often get killed by people. Why? That’s because they are mistaken for centipedes which are venomous.

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Education is not just a talk or slide show presentation. Hands-on experience is what really inspires people to have new thoughts.