Millipede Minibeast Adventure with Jess

Hello, adventurers!

I'm Jess.

It's time for a minibeast adventure.

# Feelers out, what's about?

# Creeping, sleeping

# Under stones, here and there

# Nesting, resting

# Minibeasts are everywhere

# Minibeasts are everywhere

# Look and listen, stop and stare

# Minibeasts are everywhere

# A minibeast adventure

# Feelers out, what's about?

# Minibeasts are everywhere

# Look and listen, stop and stare

# Mini worlds for us to share

# A minibeast adventure. #

With Jess!

Welcome to my tree house.

This minibeast has lots of legs.

Insects like ladybirds, butterflies and bees

have six legs.

Spiders have eight legs.

But this minibeast has even more than that.

It's a millipede.

And just look at all those legs.

Can you see them running along the bottom?

When you say the word 'millipede',

it sounds like they might have one million legs.

Million-pede.

But they don't actually have that many.

These ones have about 150,

and that's still a lot more than any other creature.

Millipedes are very good at burrowing.

They move their bodies like waves

and push themselves through the soil,

a bit like a worm.

A lot of people mix up millipedes with centipedes.

And they do look quite similar.

So, I've got both of them for us to have a look at.

There's quite a lot of differences.

Have a look at this centipede.

It's much flatter,

and its body comes in big sections.

Now, if we look at the millipede,

can you see it has much smaller sections,

and a lot more short legs,

like a brush underneath its body.

Centipedes are designed for speed

and like to rush around to hunt small insects.

But a millipede moves more slowly

and its legs move like a wave.

Centipedes are meat eaters

and eat insects and worms,

whilst millipedes are vegetarians

and eat dead wood, plants and leaves.

I think it's time we went to see if there's a millipede living near you.

We might have to look really carefully, as they're hiding

during the day.

Shall we give it a try?

Come on!

Whatever the weather, we're off together on a minibeast adventure!

-Hi, Mia. Hi, Talia.

-Hi, Jess.

-Hello, Jess.

Great to see you.

Today, we're off on a millipede adventure.

What's a millipede?

A millipede is long and wiggly, a bit like a worm,

but it's got lots and lots of legs and a hard shell.

Are we going to find one?

I hope so.

Shall we get our feelers ready?

-ALL:

-Feelers out, what's about?

We're off on a minibeast adventure.

-Do you think there might be a millipede down here?

-Yep.

Where do you think a millipede lives?

Down, down, down and down.

Down, down, down, on the floor.

You've got to dig for this.

What's that?!

BOTH: A spider!

Wow, isn't that beautiful?

It made a spider web.

-How many legs does a spider have?

-Eight.

And we are looking for an animal that has even more legs than eight.

Then more...more than 200.

-Shall we have a look over there?

-Yep.

-Come on, then.

I think we have to dig for some.

-BOTH:

-Ah!

-Two worms!

-No, those are not worms,

-although they look like worms.

-They're centipedes!

No, these are what we were looking for.

These are millipedes.

MIA SCREAMS

And another one!

-Can I hold it?

-Yeah.

What does it feel like?

SHE SCREAMS

It feels tickly.

Ha-ha.

-Would you like to hold it, Talia?

-It's not scary.

-Take it.

-You don't want to?

-Do you want to have a really close look at it?

-Yeah.

OK, let me get a box out of my kit bag.

So, you're going to see it really closely.

Wow.

There you go, Talia. Look through there, it's magnified.

It has these things.

It does have those things, feelers.

What do you think it feels with its feelers?

My one's trying to climb up to get out.

Oh.

Shall we see how they walk?

-Yeah.

-Shall we put one in here?

They walk strange.

Look at its legs!

So many.

Ha-ha, loads of legs.

They actually have got lots of legs. Bleurgh.

How many legs do you think?

199.

-199? That could be quite accurate.

-Wow.

-Can I hold it again?

-Yes, of course you can.

-I like holding it.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-Look, they are walking with their legs.

-Are they good at walking?

-Yes, I think so.

Well, they are. Not think so - I think they are.

No, not think so - they are!

-Ha-ha.

-They are very clever at walking.

How do you breathe?

You use your nose and mouth.

But a millipede breathes through holes along the side of its body.

Ha-ha.

Sometimes it can seem like there's no minibeasts about at all.

That's because minibeasts love to hide,

and if you look beneath the surface, there might be something hiding.

I'm going to take a scoop from Mia's garden to see what we can find.

Shall we see what's hiding in your garden, Mia?

-A snail.

-Is there a snail? Where?

Oh, yes!

Shall we put that in here to have a look at it?

-It's a baby one.

-I think...

-Look! It's blowing bubbles!

-Wow, it is! Can you see that, Mia?

-ALL:

-Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.

-Look!

-Eurgh!

Wow!

Ha-ha-ha.

Some people call them daddy-longlegs.

-Cos they've got long legs.

-My dad calls it that.

-Does he?

That's called a harvestman.

Eugh, slug.

-No, it's a worm.

-That is a slug.

Urgh.

I thought it was a snail.

-What is that?

-Earwig, I think.

Oh, it is the same colour as an earwig.

That one is called a centipede.

-I told you.

-Did you?

-You said it isn't a centipede.

-You said it was an earwig.

-Oh, yes, I said it was an earwig.

-BOTH:

-Aw.

-They're so little.

-Does anyone know what that is?

-A woodlice.

-A woodlouse.

I found something.

What is that?!

A centipede.

Oh, not a centipede.

Millipede.

What a lot of minibeasts we found in your garden.

And the last thing we found was this lovely millipede, wasn't it?

Yeah.

This is cool.

I loved that minibeast adventure.

It's amazing how many creatures you can find, wherever you live.

Maybe you could go on a millipede adventure too.

There's sure to be one living near you.

Look in dark, damp places.

A grown-up adventurer might need to lift things up

to look underneath.

Feelers out, what's about?

Happy hunting, adventurers.