Lemurs' Toxic Ritual for Insect Defense

Their favorite poison is found crawling in the forest. Like puffer fish, millipedes are toxic...

but that doesn't stop the lemurs seeking them out. The millipedes use dangerous secretions,

including cyanide, as a defense. But the lemurs still chew on them, albeit extremely

cautiously. The toxins cause the lemurs to salivate. They then rub both the saliva and the

millipede into their fur. They use it as an insecticide to ward off insects,

such as mosquitoes that carry malaria. But they are suspiciously enthusiastic about the whole process.

It seems they don't just work as an insect repellent. The chemicals also appear to send them

into a trance-like state... a condition of complete intoxication. And they can't seem