It was putting its 100th left leg in, and it was putting its 100th left leg out again — a sensation the Otago Museum science communicator actually "enjoyed" for about 15 seconds while being photographed with the arthropod yesterday.
"I don’t even know how to describe what that felt like. Kind of tickly.
"Their feet are surprisingly grippy, like little claws.
"I’m not sure how many people would enjoy that, but I did."
The millipede is one of about a dozen on display at Otago Museum’s Tropical Forest.
"They’ve come to us to use for education — help people learn a little bit more about other animals that they might not usually be exposed to.
"The name might suggest that they’ve got 1000 legs, but actually, fully grown, they’ve only got about 300. It’s a bit of a misnomer there.
"They can grow up to 35cm long — longer than your standard ruler — and about 3cm thick. They can also weigh up to 80g, so quite heavy for a bug."
The millipedes are detritivores, which means they feed on dead organic material, especially plant detritus.
"They only have tiny mouths which can’t hurt humans, but when they get stressed, they secrete a caustic goo," she said.
"So we want to keep them as calm as possible when we handle them."
While the thought of handling one sends shivers down many people’s spines, she said staff at the museum were very excited to have them.
"I might seem a bit weird, but I like creepy-crawlies.
"They’re really cool animals to have."
It was hoped they would become a permanent feature of the Tropical Forest facility, she said.
"If this is successful, we’ll continue to get more.
"I’ve read online that they are pretty good at breeding, so it’s possible we might be able to start making our own."
