There was a light rain overnight and I decided to explore behind our house for wildflowers. In the rotting leaf litter I spotted this brightly colored millipede. Millipedes can be distinguished from centipedes by the number of legs per body segment. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, while millipedes have two pairs.
Millipedes, unlike centipedes, are not venomous and are predominantly considered to be non-poisonous. However, this millipede (Apheloria virginiensis) is reported to secrete cyanide compounds as a defense. It is recommended to wash hands after handling this millipede.
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