Ambulatory Leg Yellow is Seductive
That gem, the title of this entry, came from an AltaVista Babelfish translation of a page on Mukade. Recently, more people have been finding my site using Google and Yahoo searches. This entry is dedicated to them…
First, let me give you some advice for when you are looking for information on Mukade. Might I suggest that next time you focus your search using the latin name “Scolopendra subspinipes japonica”, as you will find less results which refer to video game characters, and more useful information. That is, assuming you can read Japanese…
I read some, translated some using an online translator, and came up with a bunch of useful information. Some of it had to be deciphered out of the bizarre language that you get from machine translation, but I am used to it as sometimes my students pass in papers to me that they have “written” this way… These translations often range from the totally unreadable, to the wonderfully poetic. I love the following translated tidbit:
“…disposition is rough, the movement is fast, it is dangerous kind…with the dense blue color where systemic metallic luster there is a body color, only the ambulatory leg yellow is seductive.”
From what I have been able to translate from the japanese links that I have found, the following seems to be true:
>;;;;;;;;;;;< they come in two varieties, either the Omukade, where "O" means big, and the Aomukade, which means "blue" (there is also a Tobizumukade, but it is considered the same as the Aomukade)
>;;;;;;;;;;;< the Omukade get to be about 15 cm (with 21 pairs of legs), and are found in southeastern Japan. This seems to be what I have in the house...
>;;;;;;;;;;;< the Aomukade and Tobizumukade get to be around 10 cm as adults
>;;;;;;;;;;;< Yes, mukade care for their young, which are carried as eggs under mommies belly. The mother will nurture the young until they are self sufficient. I have heard that when you find one Mukade, that you will soon find another, as they apparently come in mating pairs. I believe this to be true, as I have found a pair of biggies within a close timeframe each year since I have lived out here.
>;;;;;;;;;;;< they are pretty much blind, but are very sensitive to vibrations (translation, they "see" just fine in the dark, when you can't!) and they hunt small insects at night
>;;;;;;;;;;;< if you touch one by accident, it may bite you. If you get bitten it does hurt quite a bit, as they are poisonous, and you will likely experience swelling, redness, and possibly scarring. I have been bitten once, but it was a small bite, and although it hurt like hell (it woke me from dead sleep) there was no swelling, and just a bit of redness. However, if you get a good bite, you may want to go to the Doctor. Much like a bee sting, it can bring on "Anna-wears-plastic" shock, which is just not good for you. (Sorry, I have NO idea how to spell that, so you work it out!)
>;;;;;;;;;;;< if you keep it as a pet (I actually found a link to a guy who does!), you can feed it "pink mice", or crickets. Apparently, a 10 cm Mukade can escape through a 2 mm opening...
Sources (even if you cannot read Japanese, you will find some good photos):
http://www.city.nagoya.jp/10eisei/ngyeiken/insect/chilopod/ssj.htm
http://www.aa.alpha-net.ne.jp/takuto01/ot-mu-mutilans1.htm (the pet guy)
OK, now I feel as if I have provided something to make me worthy of my Mukade status in the search engines.
Was this my goal in setting up this blog? Not in the least, but I am glad that I can provide the information, as when I first moved out here, I searched the web in vain for information on Mukade, and always came up short.
Did I mention that Mukade like to sleep under blankets and futons? That is how I got bitten, my hand slid off the futon onto the floor, and landed on one as it scurried out from under the mattress…
Sleep well ;o)