However, in some tropical regions, the millipedes have adapted a long, piercing beak that is used for feeding on plant juices. A carnivorous or omnivorous diet has been adopted by some rock-inhabiting millipedes. It is said that their prey include phalangids, insects, centipedes, and earthworms. Like earthworms, some millipedes ingest soil from which organic matter is digested. The genitalia of millipedes are on their 3rd body segment, with males having their 1st pair of legs on their 7th body segment modified into a special pair of claspin organs which are often held close to the body.
Males communicate to females their intent and identity in a variety of ways.
The signal is tactile in most millipedes, when the male climbs onto the back of the female, clinging by special leg pads. Antennal tapping, head drumming, and stridulating are utilized by various other millipedes. Many millipedes produce a substance called pheromones, that can either imitate mating behavior, or continue the sequence of steps that were initialized by other signals. A millipedes eggs are fertilized at the moment of laying, and anywhere from 10 to 300 eggs are produced at one time, depending on the species. Some deposit their eggs in clusters of soil or humus.