Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Myriapods (Myriapoda) » Millipedes (Diplopoda) » Spirobolida » Spirobolidae » Narceus » Narceus americanus/annularis complex (Narceus americanus-annularis-complex)

Species Narceus americanus-annularis-complex - Narceus americanus/annularis complex

Narceus americanus - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex North American Millipede - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex Red and black millipedes (Narceus americanus) - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex woodland millipede - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex millipede - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex Millipede - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex 2018-08-23 Large millipede - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex Narceus americanus/annularis complex (Narceus americanus-annularis-complex)? millipede - Narceus americanus-annularis-complex
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Myriapoda (Myriapods)
Class Diplopoda (Millipedes)
Order Spirobolida
Family Spirobolidae
Genus Narceus
Species americanus-annularis-complex (Narceus americanus/annularis complex)
Other Common Names
Worm millipede, iron worm(1)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Narceus americanus (Palisot de Beauvois, 1817).
At least 14 Narceus species have been historically described, but most are now subsumed within the americanus/annularis complex.(2)
Numbers
The Narceus americanus/annularis complex comprises two taxa of uncertain status that occur throughout eastern and central North America.(2).
Size
Up to 11.5 cm — about twice as large as other North American millipedes.
Identification
Usually dark reddish-brown with red edges on each segment. The most commonly seen large millipede in its range (3).
Range
Southeastern US, north to Ohio, and west to Texas (4).
Habitat
In forest logs, leaf litter.
Season
Active spring through fall, overwintering in rotting logs or in soil
Life Cycle
Emerge in spring to mate and lay eggs. Female lays a single egg in a cup formed from regurgitated food (3).
Internet References
Kentucky Millipedes
Kentuckyawake.org
Lander University--Invertebrate Anatomy OnLine--Narceus americanus - Worm Millipede
Works Cited
1.Pleistocene glacial refugia across the Appalachian Mountains and coastal plain in the millipede genus Narceus
Walker, M. J., A. K. Stockman, P. E. Marek, & J. E. Bond. 2009. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 925(25).
2.Distribution of the milliped genus Narceus Rafinesque, 1820 (Spirobolida: Spirobolidae) Occurrences in New England and west...
Shelley, R., C.T. McAllister & M.F. Medrano. 2006. Western North American Naturalist, 66(3): 374-389.
3.National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders & Related Species of North America
Arthur V. Evans. 2007. Sterling.
4.Spiders and Their Kin: A Golden Guide from St. Martin's Press
Herbert W. Levi, Lorna R. Levi, Nicholas Strekalovsky. 2001. St. Martin's Press.
Contributed by Lynette Elliott on 16 April, 2005 - 7:12pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, anitagould, Mike Quinn, ceiseman, Ken Childs, biosam
Last updated 18 June, 2022 - 11:33am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo