Exploitation of litter and soil by the train millipede Parafontaria laminata (Diplopoda: Xystodesmidae) in larch plantation forests in Japan

Abstract

Swarms of the train millipede ( Parafontaria laminata) are known to occur every 8 years; during the swarms, adults emerging from the soil have an extremely high density in natural and plantation forests in central Japan. Their influence on organic layer accumulation on forest floors was investigated under field conditions in plantation larch forests in central Japan, before and after the adult swarming period of 2000. In addition, the adult millipede feeding preference and the amount of food consumed were observed in the laboratory. The field density of adults ranged from 11 to 311 individuals m −2 in October 2000; the highest biomass was 28.6±16.4 g dry wt m −2. Reduction of the forest floor organic layer was density- dependent when the population consisted of 7th instar larvae; however, the adult population did not consume in a density-dependent manner. Higher levels of geophagy were observed in high-density treatments in the laboratory. We hypothesized that the geophagy of the millipedes was partly supported by the naturally high organic matter content of Andosol, and that soil consumption would sustain an extremely high biomass in a temperate conifer forest soil.