Page 22 - Black Range Naturalist, Vol. 3, No. 1
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  Townsend’s cicada on a creosotebush stem. This is a common cicada of the northern Chihuahuan Desert that frequently sings and oviposits on creosotebush stems. (Photo by David Lightfoot)
Larvae tunnel into the soil and take up residence near roots of a plant. Larvae feed on the sap of roots which provides the energy and nutrients for growth of the larvae. Larvae moult a number of times before reaching adult size.
The large desert millipede (literally a thousand legs) is usually seen only after rains have moistened the soils. When disturbed, this millipede curls up into a coil and exudes an evil smelling substance from its body.
Millipedes spend most of their lives underground and only come to the surface to feed and mate. The desert millipede moves very slowly and will climb into vegetation to escape hot soil or to
Giant Desert Centipedes are mostly nocturnal and rarely seen unless forced from a refuge under a rock or log such as a yucca trunk. These predatory arthropods take a variety of prey as large as rodents, reptiles, birds, spiders, and insects. They have a venomous bite that includes a heart toxin, an enzyme that breaks down blood cells and other cells, and a nerve toxin. The bite is not fatal to humans but can be very painful and result in necrosis (death) of tissue around the bite area. Centipedes are prey for several animals such as grasshopper mice, some birds, reptiles, spiders, and other centipedes.
Sun Spider, Camel Spider, and Wind Scorpion are names that have been applied to these animals. However, there
feed on dead bark. Millipedes consume soil containing bacteria which are probably a source of nutrition. When active on the surface, desert millipedes have been observed feeding on dead plant materials that accumulate under shrubs. Gut contents of desert millipedes include lots of sand plus fragments of
Orthoporus ornatus, the Desert Millipede, immediately above and above right, photographed near Hillsboro by R. A. Barnes.
leaves, stems, and insect parts. In one published report, desert millipedes climbed into mormon tea plants where they fed on dead bark. In the middle of the day the larger millipedes avoided the lethal temperatures of the soil surface by clinging to branches of shrubs two to three feet above the ground. Other millipedes enter rodent burrows and holes made by other animals to avoid the high temperatures and dry conditions of the air.
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