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Creepy-Crawly Poetry -
Pill Millipedes
These myriapods don't look like regular millipedes. They are small and short with just 15 pairs of legs and their body segments are hard and shiny. This is because pill millipedes are able to perform a very clever trick - when under threat they literally roll themselves up into a small, tight ball. This ball acts as a double defense... first it hides the millipede from sight; looking like a tiny stone. And secondly, if the predator isn't fooled, the ball is impenetrable to attack - unless of course the predator is big enough to simply swallow it whole!
The Skill of a Pill Millipede
Crawling through the undergrowth
then stopping suddenly in fear,
The pill millipede senses danger
and decides to swiftly disappear;
In a well-practised manouvere
it rolls itself into a sphere,
Cleverly concealed from sight
when it's enemies get too near;
So what will the predator find
when it starts searching here?
Nothing but a small black stone
... or so it would appear!
Pill Millipede
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Pill Millipedes
