Abstract
MILLIPEDES lay their eggs in hollow capsules of their own construction, within which the emerged young spend the early part of their existence. The capsules are moulded primarily of soil and vegetable debris, and are built with the apparent addition of maternal enteric constituents, both oral and aboral in origin1,2, which suggests that they might be impregnated chemically for defence against microorganisms. Here we present evidence indicating that for at least two species of millipede this hypothesis does not apply, because neither antibacterial nor antifungal substances could be detected in the walls of their capsules.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Loomis, H. F., J. Wash. Acad. Sci., 23, 100 (1933).
Shaw, G. G., Ecology, 47, 322 (1966).
Auerbach, S. I., Ecol. Monog., 21, 97 (1951).
Palmén, E., and Rantala, M., Ann. Zool. Soc. Vanamo, 16, 1 (1954).
West, M. J., and Alexander, R. D., Ohio J. Sci., 63, 19 (1963).
Weyrauch, W. K., Biol. Zentralbl., 49, 543 (1929).
Wheeler, W. M., Ants, their Structure, Development, and Behavior (Columbia University Press, New York, 1910).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
EISNER, T., ZAHLER, S., CARREL, J. et al. Absence of Antimicrobial Substances in the Egg Capsules of Millipedes. Nature 225, 661 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225661a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225661a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.