Wild, Wild Woodpile Series

Continuing onward with the woodpile series. Brush piles and woodpiles make for a great addition to any habitat as they provide a refuge for many creatures to live. Among these critters I found several North American Millipedes. Millipedes are pretty amazing. With all those legs they are fascinating to watch. If you look closely you can see little waves travel down the lengths of their body on the sets of legs as they travel along. Millipedes are detritivores meaning that the eat the detris or rotting vegetation on the forest floor. Being nocturnal they prefer to stay out of the light and in dark places under logs or leaves. For protection from predators they will roll up into a spiral shape. If that doesn't work they will release a foul and burning chemical that will convince many small creatures not to eat it.Luckily they didn't release it as I handled them rather gently when I was photographing them. I wasn't so lucky with one of the other creatures. God's tender love and mercies to all, chris All images were created with a handheld Canon 7D and a 100mm Macro lens. Manual mode, ISO 200, Exposures varied. Lighting was provided by two Alien Bee 1600 Studio lights. #TeamCanon