When attacked, millipedes curl their bodies into tight spirals to protect their soft undersides. This coil shape also protects their heads and legs. They sometimes burrow to bury themselves when disturbed, using their front legs to push away the soil.

What is a millipede defense?

Due to their lack of speed and their inability to bite or sting, millipedes' primary defence mechanism is to curl into a tight coil – protecting their delicate legs inside an armoured exoskeleton.

How do millipedes survive?

They live under mulch, under dead leaves, or even under piles of grass clippings. In well-established lawns, millipedes can also live in the layer of thatch between the grass and the soil. In their natural habitat, most millipedes are scavengers.