Millipedes are also interesting because some of them produce cyanide as a defense measure. Wash your hands after handling. I sometimes see a local species of

Millipedes are also interesting because some of them produce cyanide as a defense measure. Wash your hands after handling. I sometimes see a local species of black-and-yellow millipede, chunky individual several inches long, that have climbed up walls, tree trunks, or fence posts and died. They were victims of a parasitic fungus (Anthrophaga myriapodina) that takes control of them and forces this climbing so spores from the fungus can disperse more widely. You might think this is Cordyceps, a fungus that does something similar in ants, but it's not closely related, not being in even the same taxonomic class. It's a case of convergent evolution.