Friday, May 18, 2007

The Creature On the Beach

Emily doesn't like things with too many legs, so I expect she won't like this:

But I did, because I found it rather interesting. It's undoubtedly a millipede: slow-moving herbivore (more usually known as ooh look what's that creepy crawly thing?) with two pairs of legs on each body segment, unlike the much faster-moving centipede which only has one pair. This picture is about actual size (unless you have a really, really big computer screen, in which case I don't want to frighten you).

Where did I come across this millipede? On the beach near Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

Now all the information I can find about millipedes tells me they live in places with lots of plants that they can eat. The middle of a large tract of sand didn't seem a very millipede-friendly place. In fact, I was rather on the verge of rescuing this one and taking it to the nearby grass-covered sand dunes, when I noticed that she was not alone.

All over the beach were hundreds and hundreds of them, about a yard from each other in solitary millipediness, trotting amiably along on their many little legs, seemingly focused on a distant destination.

Where did they come from? How did they get there? Where were they going? Had I come across the millipede equivalent of a works outing to Blackpool?

If anyone has the answer, please tell me. I can't say it's been keeping me awake at night, but it would be good to know.


7 Comments:

Blogger MrsG said...

I'm with Emily on that one!! A single 'pede might be fascinating but the thought of dozens and dozens trundling along on their many, many legs makes my hair kind of stand on end..!

8:31 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

wow - where exactly in barrow were you? I want to see the millipede invasion for myself.

9:01 am  
Blogger Daphne said...

They were on the beach at Roan Head, quite a long way down the beach, and I still can't work out how they got there or where they were coming from.
Do you come from Barrow? ie are you the Thomas I think you might be? Or are you someone else? Either way, thank you for reading my blog!

10:11 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

No not Barrovian. Don't know any Daphnes from Leeds sorry. Working here at the moment. Want to see the march of the millipedes very much though. So if I go to Roan Head and leave my car in car park do I walk left or right once Im on the beach?

10:19 am  
Blogger Daphne said...

You park in the Roan Head car park (if you don't know where that is let me know and I'll give proper directions) and then cross the sand dunes on the walkway to the beach and go left, walking parallel to the sand dunes. We walked a long way, nearly as far as South Walney, and the millipedes were all the way along -quite far down towards the sea. It's a lovely walk - this was a couple of weeks ago so I hope they're still there.

4:06 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi. i went to look yesterday and saw them. Were the ones you saw an inch long? all the ones i saw were. 1000s of very small millipedes in barrow - who'd have thought.

8:09 am  
Blogger Daphne said...

Yes, they were all an inch long. I'm glad they're still there, and that you visited them. But I still wonder why and how.

9:57 pm  

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