Species Harpaphe haydeniana

Harpaphe haydeniana (Wood) 1864

Six subspecies.

maximum length of 40 mm

A millipede with a flattened body. It has a shiny black body (sometimes with a bluish-green sheen) with bright yellow patches on the outside portion of most segments.

West Coast of NA: Southeast Alaska to Monterey County, California. East to the Sierra Nevada.

It tends to live in moist forests. (1)

As with other millipedes, Haraphe haydeniana is a vegetarian and scavenger. (1)

This particular millipede secretes a dark fluid that has an odor similar to the almond extract used in cooking. Apparently this is a defensive manuveur. Millipedes also curl up in tight coils when threatened. (1)

Caution: Many millipedes with bright color patterns secrete a compound containing cyanide. Wash your hands after handling them and do not allow children to pick them up.

"Millipedes are entirely non-toxic to humans and can be picked up by hand. Some secretions discolor the skin, but this wears away in a few days without lasting effect. Some large, cylindrical, tropical species squirt their defensive secretions up to a half meter (2-3 feet) and can blind chickens and dogs. Their fluids are painful if they get into the eyes, and persons working with tropical millipedes should be suitably cautious." ~Rowland Shelley

Harpaphe is in the tribe Xystodesmini.

H. telodonta (Humboldt and Del Norte co., CA) is slightly more brown in base color.

H. pottera (Mendocino and Humboldt co., CA) requires examination of the gonopods to distinguish from H. haydeniana.

Chonaphe is quite similar in the same region.

Buckett, JS and MR Gardner. 1968. "Revision of the milliped genus Harpaphe Cook from western North America (Polydesmida: Xystodesmidae)". Occasional Papers of the Bureau of Entomology, California Department of Agriculture 11: 1–51.

(1) Millipedes in the Pacific Northwest