Spotted Snake Millipede

Blaniulus guttulatus

This millipede is creamy white or pale yellow and has small red spots down its side on each segment. These spots are the animal’s repellent glands. Its body has around 60 segments. Length 15mm.

It feeds on the roots of various crops, including cereal crops and potatoes, and can be quite a serious pest.

Seen all year round, but more frequent in spring and autumn. It mainly lives in cultivated soil, but it can also be found in gardens and woodland. A common and widespread species throughout Britain, but scarcer in the far north.

Photograph of Spotted Snake Millipede (Blaniulus guttulatus), taken May 2013, found under rotting log, local wood, Staffordshire. © Pete Hillman 2013. Camera used Nikon Coolpix P500.