Black Portuguese Millipedes

Pest Stats

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Colour:

Blackish or brownish, some red, orange or with mottled patterns.

Legs:

Shape:

Long, cylindrical and wormlike

Size:

2-155 mm

Antennae:

Yes

Region:
Brief:

The black Portuguese millipede, Ommatoiulus moreletii, is an herbivorous millipede native to Portugal.
This species was accidentally introduced into Australia where it has since become an invasive pest.

Adult black Portuguese millipedes are smooth, 20 – 45 millimetres long and coloured from grey to black
their bodies are composed of numerous similar segments between a head and a tail end. Each body
segment has 2 pairs of legs on each segment, although the first few segments may have only a single
pair of legs. Immature specimens are striped and light brown.

Habits

Black are herbivorous detritivores, which means they obtain nutrients by consuming decomposing plant
materials and by doing so, they contribute to decomposition and the nutrient cycles.

Portuguese millipedes hatch from eggs in the soil, and initially have only 3 pairs of legs. They moult as
they grow; adding segments and legs, and reach maturity at 2 years. They are mostly active at night and
during hot dry weather the millipedes remain hidden in the soil. Rainy weather in spring and particularly
autumn stimulates activity, often leading to outbreak numbers with thousands of millipedes on the
surface.

Adult males are periodomorphic, alternating between a sexual and a non-sexual form. In their sexual
form, they have gonopods (mating legs) in the seventh body segment, which they lose when they moult
in spring. They remain in the non-sexual ‘eunuch’ form until their late summer moult.

As a defence mechanism, the millipede secretes a pungent yellowish fluid containing hydrogen cyanide.
This stains clothes permanently and irritates eyes.

Habitat

Black Portuguese millipedes are most often seen in moist conditions, which create an abundance of
food. Since being introduced to Port Lincoln, South Australia in 1953, the millipede has spread to other
parts of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory, southern New South Wales, and
Western Australia around Perth.

Threats

Lacking natural predators in Australia, the black Portuguese millipede has flourished to ‘plague’
proportions. They have been known to enter residences due to their sheer numbers.

The millipedes were crushed in great numbers crossing the railway tracks at Tallarook, central Victoria in
March 2009, causing train cancellations due to the disturbance of signalling equipment. Crushed
millipedes were also implicated in a 2013 minor train crash. In the implication it was posited that
crushing the insects on the tracks interfered with the train's deceleration.

Prevention
Barriers - both chemical and physical - and light traps are the most practical ways of preventing
millipedes from invading houses. At the landscape scale, biological control is probably the only feasible
method, but no suitable agents have been found yet. A parasitic nematode has had limited effect. A
suitable chemical, applied in a band wide enough to kill millipedes crossing it, can be applied to brick or
cement surfaces around the house, and to doorsteps and window ledges. Prepare and apply the
chemical according to directions, and reapply as necessary. Physical barriers stop and/or trap millipedes
moving towards the house. A smooth, clean, vertical surface is effective, or a moat with overhanging
sides. They are also attracted to light, and you can construct a millipede trap out of a length of oblong-
section galvanised steel downpipe and a low voltage bulb.

As a defence mechanism, the millipede secretes a pungent yellowish fluid containing hydrogen cyanide.
This stains clothes permanently and irritates eyes. Due to this defence it is best for people to sweep
them up rather than crushing them.

Others

Photo and information are provided by J. Coelho and WR Gay Pest Control Pty Ltd.

Nephila pilipes

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Nephila pilipes

Infraspecies

Nephila pilipes malagassa

http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Nephila_pilipes_malagassa/classification/