Defensive secretion of the pill millipedeGlomeric marginata : I. Fluid production and storage

AdultGlomeris marginata reloaded glandular defensive fluid slowly and fairly constantly at 15 °C for 100 days after being milked to depletion. Female millipedes produced more sticky exudate than males, but the two sexes stored secretion at approximately the same absolute rate, 12 μg/individual/day. Hence, males, which weighed one third as much as females, accumulated disproportionately more secretion. MaleGlomeris in the reloading treatments after 75 days yielded as much exudate as controls, millipedes given 100 days to supplement their field reserves, whereas experimental females always produced less secretion than controls. Projections from these data suggest that adultGlomeris, regardless of sex, require more than 4 months to replenish their defensive reserves after completely discharging them in an attack.