Do Milpedes Release Hydrogen Cyanide?

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Some millpedes do release hydrogen cyanide. The benzaltahide makes it smell like cherries or almonds. One particular group, the sisto desmode, gets her common name of the cherry millopedes from that smell. If a human were to eat one of these, i don't think it would have major harm to you.

How many legs? Why so many legs? What's a millipede versus a centipede? And again WHY SO MANY LEGS. We have just the guy for that: Diplopodologist Dr. Derek Hennen. As a person who’s spent over a decade sorting through leaf litter and naming scores of new species, Derek is truly a champion for the multi-limbed little critters. If you liked what Casey Clapp brought to Dendrology, get ready to appreciate millipedes like you never thought you would. Also: mythology gossip, world records, Taylor Swift fandom, and sniffing bugs.

Dr. Derek Hennen’s website

Follow Dr. Derek Hennen on Instagram and Twitter and @dearmillipede

A donation was made to Lower Muskingum Conservancy

Millipedes of Ohio Field Guide PDF

You may also enjoy: Dipterology (FLIES), Sparklebuttology (FIREFLIES), Forest Entomology (CREEPY CRAWLIES), Entomology (INSECTS), Scorpiology (SCORPIONS), Kinetic Salticidology (DANCING SPIDERS), Acarology (TICKS), Melittology (BEES)

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes!

Follow @Ologies on Twitter and Instagram

Follow @AlieWard on Twitter and Instagram