One reader from Northwestern Pennsylvania said that he has recently found a few worms while digging through some bark near his wood pile. He first thought that they were night crawlers, but he said they were fast, firm, and energetic. He used a few for fishing and he said that they had a tough skin and secreted or sprayed a clear liquid. He said that they are large and very snakelike in movement. He did not include a picture, but it is highly possible that these are a type of millipede.

There is a possibility that these creatures are millipedes because of their armored exoskeleton. This could be the firmness that our reader mentioned. Also, when millipedes are threatened, they secrete chemicals. Some types of millipedes give off an almond scented liquid when they are threatened. They do not smell bad unless they do feel threatened.

One problem with identifying these creatures as millipedes is that they are not generally fast creatures the way that our reader described them. They can move frantically if they are being bothered or picked up. There are a few very noticeable characteristics of millipedes that our reader may be able to spot in the worms that he has found.

Millipedes often coil up tightly when they are threatened. They do prefer moist and dark places so if our reader is finding them under wood piles, this could help to identify them as millipedes. Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment.

In summary, our reader has found some worm-like creatures that could possibly be millipedes. If we had a picture, we could get a better idea of what they are, but they do seem to have many characteristics of millipedes.

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