Monday, May 30, 2016

Last of the Wild Woodpile

I saved the little boldest and brightest critter to be recovered from the wild woodpile for last. Their bright yellow spots send out a clear message that the aren't to be messed with. If that doesn't work they will they will send out a squirt of Hydrogen Cyanide which can be quite harmful any small forest creature dealing with them. For humans it isn't particularly harmful it just doesn't smell that great. It smells to some people like bitter, burnt, almonds. Though I would imagine if you got it in your eyes it might be slightly more annoying. These little detrivores are called the Yellow-spotted Millipede,AKA Almond-scented Millipede or the Cyanide Millipede. Like other millipedes they provide a great service for the forest floor. They estimate that millipedes consume a third of the conifer needles that fall to the forest floor. So they are the many legged little garbage disposals of the forest breaking needles down into duff to create a nutrient rich environment for plants to grow in. Pretty cool little critter. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris All images were created with a Canon 7D and a 100mm macro lens. Camera was set to Manual mode, ISO 200, Shutter speed of 1/200th of a sec. F stops varied. Light source used were two Alien Bee 1600 studio flashes.

1 comment:

  1. That is really neat looking and so interesting. Had never seen or heard of this type of millipede before. Great images!

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