1,306 legs—the most of any known animal

 Hello Flogbollowers! (work it out?)

Let's begin with a question: not just any question though, probably a question that you couldn't possibly be expected to know the answer to.

Here it is: What happened in Australia during August of 2020 that somehow relates to my first image for this update?

And here is the image...

Well, this is a photograph I shot of a millipede. The word "millipede" means "a thousand feet,” but the name is a bit of an exaggeration. Until recently, scientists had only found a millipede with around 750 legs.

With the discovery of a new species in Australia, scientists have finally assigned the millipede name to an insect worthy of the title: a critter with a whooping 1,306 legs—the most of any known animal. 

My millipede pictured above actually has less than 100 legs. You might think that qualifies it as a centipede? But no, centipedes have just one pair of legs per body segment; whereas millipedes have two.

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Next question: What lives out its life on one of these?

Well, several things actually. But one species loves nothing more than rootling around in the detritus that collects on my garbage bin. These creatures are mostly too small for my standard lens, at less than 4mm as a fully grown adult; but I did try to capture a few images recently...

I know what you're thinking? Why is the bin brown, and these images are blue? Just a printed label on the bin is the answer. These are of course Collembola, or springtails if you prefer. Impossible to see any detail with the naked eye, but fascinating the closer you get.

This one I found on the green bin and although it looks a similar size in this cropped image, it is in fact a teeeeeeeny baby at around only 1mm

By comparison though, this jumping spider looks huge. It is in reality, still only about 6mm long. 

I discovered this in  my work studio and it looked a tad dehydrated to me. I hope it will be okay though, as shortly after I took this photo it went on its way.

Whilst we are in 'scary spider' mood, I also spotted this beautiful (oh yes it is) wolf spider sunning itself on the house wall a few days back...

Close by was this hoverfly: the first of the year for me; a drone...

I did set up the trail camera on the badgers one night recently: unfortunately the only footage I captured wasn't especially interesting. Here is a small compilation of clips anyhow...

A quick reminder that these videos do not show in the emailed version of my blog.

The clock is wrong on all these video clips by the way: I just forgot to set it!

I hope to do better next time I film them, which should be real soon as spring seems to be arriving fast now.

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I think these small beetles that I discovered under bark are most likely Pycnomerus species, and possibly P. fuliginosus. Known as Narrow Timber Beetles.

Here's one next to a Billy Baker...sorry, Woodlouse, for a size comparison...

Euophryum confine is my guess for this one: A wood-boring weevil. There are other Euophryum it could be, and also a very similar looking Pentarthrum species.

No surprise at finding this one though: every spring I come across one of these in the house. It's the varied carpet beetle (Anthrenus verbasci)

This was a new springtail to me in my local woods: I think it's Dicyrtoma fusca...

 

Just for a sense of scale, the actual size of this frame is about 3 inches across...

And so what is this one? Erm...possibly just a sap, or pollen beetle?

Okay then, I think that's a wrap!