2021 is behind us, so it’s time to take a quick look and see what my Myriapoda collecting was like last year! I pulled together my stats from the specimen database I use to track my collection, and these numbers include millipedes (Diplopoda), centipedes (Chilopoda), symphylans (Symphyla), and pauropods (Pauropoda). Let’s dive in.
First, I tallied up how many specimens I collected in total during 2021. I collected a grand total of 1009 pedes in 2021! Not too shabby. That’s about 19 pedes a week, slightly higher than the doctor recommended number per week. Second, I tallied up how many times I went out collecting in 2021. These collection events ranged from finding a pede in a stairwell to concerted days-long trips, so there’s a lot of variation in what exactly these events were. But they’re all held together by a common thread: I collected something. In total, I did 68 collection events in 2021. Essentially, I tried to find some kind of millipede or centipede each week. Except during the winter when the weather was awful. Third, I wanted to break down what these stats looked like by month—scroll down for the best Excel-MS Paint collab you’ll see this week.
In this graph, the black bars are the total myriapod specimens collected each month and correspond to the left axis. The gray line is the number of collection events I did each month and correspond to the right axis. You can see a DISTINCT increase in the numbers of specimens I collected starting in September due to the use of two homemade Berlese-Tullgren funnels—the power of passive collecting methods! I collected the most specimens in the fall, with the spring being the second best collecting season. You can see there’s not much of a correlation between the number of specimens collected and how many times I collected each month. Obviously though, I was itching to get out during the spring after being cooped up during the winter, hence the large number of collecting events.
We can see some important lifestyle choices reflected in this graph. Namely, if it is too hot or too cold, I don’t like to go outside to look for bugs. January and February aren’t my favorite times of the year. But once the spring wildflowers pop up, I really try to get out there. Spurred on by my cabin fever, I like to get out and look for flowers and pedes, and usually it’s great! You can still get some of the cold-weather active pedes, and you might find morel mushrooms, as I did this year (they were delicious). I don’t necessarily get more pedes the more times I go out collecting, as you can see from the gray line jolting around, but that’s okay. Activity and pedes fall off during the summer when it’s gross out, but really picks up in the fall.
You can see a huge difference in the numbers of pedes I collected starting in September, and that’s all thanks to my homemade Berlese funnels. I finished putting them together in August and really got to use them starting in September, and the results are immediately apparent. Passive trapping methods are a whole new can of beans and are the way to go!
The big drop off in numbers during November was due to a combination of factors, but especially because I got sick, which isn’t conducive to running around the woods. Gotta take time off to recover. December was ridiculously warm because of global warming, but at least it meant I was able to find a lot of good species.
So that’s the wide view. To zoom in a bit more though, we can see how many unique species I collected in 2021. That number was 86 unique species, from 32 different families. Also not bad! Some of these families are only active during the cooler months, so by collecting every month (and almost every week) I was able to nab those rarer families. Now let’s see how many unique species I got each month.
Unique pedes I collected each month. Again, we see Spring and Fall are prime pede collecting months, and even December really pulled through this year! Again, due to increased temperatures from global warming, so that’s not great.
Myriapod collecting during the spring and fall returns dividends! During part of the winter too (December), as long as it’s unseasonably warm. I found some species essentially year-round, but others were only during a few months, or just one. I won’t go into exhaustive detail for each month, but you definitely want to get out during each season if you want to maximize all the different species you’ll be able to find.
Now where did all those pedes come from? Time to check the map!
Map of Virginia and surrounding states, 2021 collection localities indicated by magenta dots. Since COVID-19 is still around, most of my collecting was very localized, except for a few jaunts over to Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
I mainly kept to Virginia, hitting up the forests of Montgomery, Giles, and Roanoke counties. In particular, I now have great phenology data for centipedes and millipedes in Montgomery County. I’m lucky to live close to a lot of national forest land, giving me nearby access to some beautiful habitat.
My favorite collecting trip was the collecting I did in central West Virginia with my friend and colleague Dr. Jackson Means. We drove up to the northern panhandle of West Virginia to hand deliver some crawdads, then stopped to collect in the middle of the state. We collected five centipede species not yet documented for the state, and had a chance to check out the habitat of the Flatwoods Monster.
Sadly, this was as close as I came to encountering the Flatwoods Monster. Maybe next time.
Overall, this was a great pede year, especially after I started using the Berlese funnels. Those really upped my game and I was able to find some rare species I would have missed by hand collecting. Here are some of my favorite finds.
1. Eurypauropous pauropods
These small animals are like if you fused a potato and a twinkie, but made it a myriapod. Just a millimeter or two long, I’ve only collected them with a Berlese funnel.
Pauropods in the genus Eurypauropus are immediately recognizable from their large chestnut-brown dorsal plates and three-branched antennae. It’s the only genus of the family Eurypauropodidae found in North America, and we have about four species on the continent. The group needs more study though, and we could easily have more species (and genera) just waiting to be found!
2. Zygethobius pontis, found at last!
No common name, but isn’t it a beauty?
I’ve been searching for this stone centipede for years, and finally got it! It’s in the family Henicopidae, as opposed to our common family Lithobiidae. Even elsewhere in Virginia it seems more common, but in my area, I’ve only found it at a few higher elevation spots, typically above 800 meters. Its ultimate legs are quite long and it is FAST. Not fast enough to evade my trusty aspirator though.
3. Uroblaniulus montanus, the montane Parajulid
Lateral view of the anterior portion of a male Uroblaniulus montanus, one of our native Parajulidae.
Millipedes in the genus Uroblaniulus (Parajulidae) aren’t as common in my area as I wish they were, so I was overjoyed to find a few of these on a path up to a waterfall last May! This species is only known from a few localities, so this is one more spot for its distribution map. I almost didn’t collect it—it was so small I thought it was a juvenile! Totally length is about a centimeter.
4. Conotyla ocypetes, the winterchill millipede
What a gorgeous millipede! Note its knobby body, a tell-tale field mark.
This is one of those winter active clowns you won’t find until late fall through early spring. I collected this one on a warm Christmas Eve, and it represents a new county record for a species known only from its type locality. The genus is distributed throughout a good portion of eastern North America, so go search for it this winter!
5. Garibius psychrophilus, the cold-loving centipede
A small species slightly under a centimeter in length, it’s cute in its own way and always a crowd-pleaser.
Garibius psychrophilus is a stone centipede in the family Lithobiidae, which is the most common family of stone centipedes (Lithobiomorpha) you’ll find in North America. This species is only known from two locations, and its species name means cold-loving. It’s only found during the cooler months, and this is confirmed by my own collecting—the earliest I’ve found it is September 4th. I collected seven of these bad boys this year, slightly expanding their range, hurrah! It’s always a relief to find these rare myriapods in more places than has been documented.
This year was particularly great for range expansions. I found a number of species in new places, some just a few kilometers away from their nearest friends, while others were counties and counties away. That’s not a reflection of my amazing collecting prowess, but rather the simple fact that there aren’t enough people looking for these unique myriapods, so there are a lot of low-hanging fruit to pick from the tree and munch on. Get out there and meet your many-legged neighbors!
A quick lightning round of other miscellaneous highlights from last year’s collecting:
I found a new species of rough-backed millipede (genus Pseudotremia) in Ohio! I even collected four in one day, an absolute bonanza of Pseudotremia. A description will come soon.
Collected my first Kentucky Blue Centipede (Hemiscolopendra marginata) in Ohio, an excellent addition to my collection. These pups can give you a bite, they’re surly.
Finally found some specimens of Nadabius aristeus (Lithobiomorpha: Lithobiidae), which are like the super common N. pullus, but larger and with more teeth. Still smaller than 2 centimeters though, so no worries.
Eight different species of twisted-claw millipedes (Nannaria spp., Xystodesmidae), the unsung heroes of the Xystodesmidae. Watch for a paper on these diverse millipedes to be published soon!
Nabbed a few of their cousins (Oenomaea pulchella) as well. Conveniently just a few steps away from the bathrooms at a Tennessee rest stop. If only they were all that easy to collect!
Kentucky blue centipede (Hemiscolopendra marginata), known for sometimes getting into houses and not being afraid to fight back. It’s at its northern limits in Ohio.
Three Striaria sp., two males and one female. Most active during the cooler months, I typically only find the juveniles, so these three were a treat!
Of course, I also found some non-myriapods. Here’s a quick showcase of some arthropods that you might also know and love.
The eastern ironclad beetle, Phellopsis obcordata. This was a welcome surprise—it popped out of some chicken of the woods mushrooms I gathered! Felt like when you were a kid and found a toy in the cereal box.
A winter active mite in the family Tanaupodidae. My glass was full to the brim of Tanaupodids once it got cold. This family is rarely collected, but if you find them, my colleague Dr. Ray Fisher would LOVE to have them.
Harvesters (Opliones) are relatively common in the litter samples I take, and it’s a joy to find Erebomaster. The joy is that they are cool, but too small to effectively hunt us. Check for these under logs and stones!
For next year, I’m looking forward to using my Berlese funnels during the spring to find what I missed last year from my hand collecting. If you’re interested in your local leaf litter critters, I encourage you to assemble your own Berlese funnel and start investigating a forest near you! You can find instructions on how to make your own for about $50 here, because what else are you gonna work on during the winter?
If you want to start off the new year right, try learning your local millipedes and centipedes! You can familiarize yourself with the main groups in the eastern United States with my (FREE!) field guide to Ohio’s millipedes, available from the Ohio Division of Wildlife at this link.
For the new year, let’s resolve to forgive ourselves for the bugs that we drop before they go into the collecting tube. It happens to all of us, and that’s okay.