Disgusting! This is how Thai giant millipedes look like.

Giant millipedes in Thailand can be a shock at first, my friend found this one in a hotel garden in Bangkok. In my opinion they are fascinating rather than disgusting. Some can release a smelly liquid when in danger, so admire them without touching.

Friend of mine went to Thailand and sent me this pic of giant millipede he discovered in hotel’s garden in Bangkok. When I saw it at first, I was shocked how big it is, but then I realized how awesome and beautiful this giant millipede is.

Thyropygus alleviatus

Interesting facts about millipedes:

• their bodies are almost circular
• millipedes copulate using their feet
• the longest millipede that has been discovered ever was almost 40 centimeters long!
• baby millipedes have only three pairs of legs
• to scare predators, some millipedes have stinky liquid which they can release
• when millipedes are in danger situation, instead of running away they curls up to a spiral

Few years ago I was little bit more interested about these cute animals and I’ve discovered, that many people in Europe have their own millipedes in terrarium at home. Yeah, believe me or not, we Europeans have millipedes as pets because dogs and cats are too mainstream 😉 and now I started thinking again about getting one.

Milan Bardun 2014

picture taken by Lukas Petrik in Bangkok, May 2014