How to Catch a Millipede Mating

Millipedes are myriapods; they have segmented bodies with many legs -- sometimes up to 400 -- on their, long cylindrical bodies. No millipedes are listed as endangered or threatened species, helped by their efficient reproductive behavior. If you take the time to learn some millipede habits, it is quite possible to observe them mating, whether they are in the wild or captivity.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find a place frequented by millipedes. Look in areas with decomposing foliage as this is a source of food. Watch for movement.

    • 2

      Wait for mating season. Ask in your pet store when the breeding season is for your specific species of millipede. Male millipedes emit pheromones that attract females during this time.

    • 3

      Watch for the male curling his body forward. In most millipede species, just before mating occurs, the male primes his secondary sexual organs this way, transferring a spermatophore, or sperm package, from his ejaculatory duct to his leg-like gonopods, with which he'll later deliver sperm to the female.

    • 4

      Listen for squeaking noises, as some types of pill millipedes vocalize to attract a mate. Know that the millipedes are instinctively looking to mate when you hear their calls.

    • 5

      Watch for the male spinning a web. Bristly millipedes do this. They deposit their sperm onto it, with females later finding and collecting the sperm for fertilization.

    • 6

      Catch a male line up beside a female or walk along her back. You can know that mating is about to take place when the male makes rhythmic movements with his legs along the female's body to stimulate her.

    • 7

      See both male and female raising the front segments of their bodies. This allows them to wrap around each other. This step immediately precedes mating.

    • 8

      Observe the millipedes mating for certain when you see the male transfer a spermatophore into the female. Millipedes' sexual organs are located behind the head, so the male will use his gonopods there to deposit the sperm into the female's spermathecae, or oviducts, in a similar area on her body.