It’s home to the Florida scrub millipede (Floridobolus penneri), one of North America’s biggest millipedes. Graduate student Anne Sawl cares for dozens of rare Florida scrub millipedes in a USF St. Petersburg lab, where the arthropods recently reproduced and their offspring are now being raised. Within this context, Sawl’s research into the Florida scrub millipede’s population numbers and spread is providing new information that could aid future conservation endeavors.. About 32 Florida scrub millipedes were born and are now thriving in their lab habitat on the St. Pete campus. “Millipedes might not be glamorous, but they are ecological champions in these fragile habitats.”Florida scrub millipedes play an important role in nutrient recycling—or rather, their digestive system does.