urbpan | 365 Urban Species. #079: Garden Centipede

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365 Urban Species. #079: Garden Centipede

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cottonmanifesto

Urban species #079: Garden centipede Lithobius forficatus

To my knowledge, there is no word analogous to "arachnophobia" to indicate a fear of centipedes. Yet many people I know are made much more uncomfortable by centipedes than by spiders. Something about they way they move, they way they combine scuttling with slithering, something about them inspires revulsion in many many people. Most centipedes are, of course, totally harmless to humans. There are a few large tropical species whose venom can ruin your day, or in one case end your life, but since not many people are inclined to handle them, biting incidents are rare.

Like spiders, all centipedes are predators, and they use their venom-filled jaws (actually a pair of legs adapted for the purpose, called "forcipules") to paralyze or kill their prey. The forcipules (I just learned the word, and now I've used it twice!) of Lithobius centipedes are too small and weak to penetrate human skin. Garden centipedes are most often encountered by children (and the young at heart) turning over logs and rocks. The orangeish-brown centipedes scurry madly from the light in all directions. They can't see well, and prefer to do their hunting in the dark, feeling about with their antennae and avoiding becoming prey themselves. As far as birds, salamanders, and shrews are concerned, garden centipedes aren't creepy, they're delicious. Lithobius centipedes feed on insects and spiders, and should be considered welcome guests in the garden.

Lithobius forficatus is the most common centipede in Europe and North America, and the order Lithobiomorpha, to which they belong includes more than a third of all known centipede species. In case you're wondering, and haven't counted yet, Lithobius forficatus has 30 legs. No centipede has 100 legs, despite the name.

Any place in the city that has enough soil, moisture, cover, and prey animals is likely to have Lithobius. Rotten logs are favorite hiding places, probably because of the fungus-feeding insects and isopods that are attracted to them. Most houses are probably too dry to be popular habitat for garden centipedes. Houses are better habitat for Scutigera centipedes. While some species of centipedes are well described, there is still a lot to be learned about them, even the urban species. In fact, in 2003 in New York City, an entirely new species of centipede was discovered.

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I'm one of those people who likes spiders and other insects, but just can't stand centipedes (or earwigs... gross)

Same here. Though I occasionally get the jibblies from spiders... especially when they come crawling out of your sweep net sample straight for your hand :P

I don't like to be surprised by spiders, but I will gladly handle them if I know they're there.

Yup. I'm the same as Amazinggrando - get creeped out by centipedes but love spiders. I had thought about trying to overcome my phobia by buying, as a pet, one of those giant black centipedes, but I couldnt do it. I went to a reptile expo where some guy was selling them, asked to hold one and then totally freaked out when he put it in my hand. I hate being all girly about this, but oh well. It's on my list of "things to do before I die" - stop getting the heebie jeebies about centipedes.

I'll hazard a guess that what was put in your hand was a giant african millipede. I should have written something about the difference between millipedes and centipedes, but I thought it was getting a little long.

I think they are very different animals, but

cottonmanifesto agrees with all of you, and is creeped out by slow, herbivorous millipedes as much as she is by swift, predatory centipedes.

Just FYI, maggots skeeve me out WAY more than centipedes or millipedes. And I don't mind little millipedes at all - it's just when they get longer than a couple inches that they start to bother me.

Chilopodophobia should be the term for fear of centipedes (Class name + phobia)

I'm fine with the giant millipede things. They look... solid... to me, so they're not icky. But centipedes? Brrr! Too many segments! I hate when I'm doing the laundry in the basement and one comes running over my foot.

I know they're not that closely related, but centipedes always remind me of the gangly little sister of the grown-up looking millipedes.

They are a bit shivery, but I kind of like them. Its the sign of a healthy garden or allotment to have plenty of these. I also like earwigs - I like how they take care of their young, thats fascinating. The thing I dont like? Leeches!!!! Urghhhhhhh!!!

My life changed forever the day I found out that they have land leeches in new guinea.

Ooooog! I thought nothing made me squeamish till I found a big fat juicy leech on my leg in India - I shrieked like a little girl...

omg!! so would i! that's something that i think would be really hard to get used to.

Let us not forget my not-so-little friend....

ah! my last garden had several of these.
they overwintered under the leaf piles.
they also like to overwinter in log piles and under large stones/brick piles/etc

(as a lot of other small critters that overwinter in cold winter areas do)

There is no word for fear of centipedes much as there is no word for walking in the crosswalk (as opposed to jaywalking.) This is because it's assumed as given.

The Fear of Centipedes is Chilopodophobia

hello, i have just found a centipede in my garden just now, we are keeping it in a box then letting it go later

please please please kill it.

Ah yes, tropical centipedes. Some people told me this one pictured had a less severe bite than the little 4cm jobbie that bit my toe but I don't know if I believe them. The one that stung me had blue on it. The bite hurt for a while and having no experience with centipede stings wasn't sure what to do. I put ice on it for a while and by the next morning my foot was pretty much right again. It would sting for a few seconds then fade, then come back in a flash of pain again. Interesting experience.

I searched on google and found ur blog, the reason I searched is cuz I found 2 centipedes within this hour, luckily I'm the kinda person who will set a goal and accomplish it, my goal was to try and kill the centipedes, I know they are harmless to me, and kill insects but, we have had an infestation with centipedes before, and my brothers dad's basement was probably how I encountered my fear, the basement had the worst infestation I have ever seen, the whole place was covered the walls, the ceiling(periodically some fell) they were all over the floor, made me nutz.

anywho back to my house centipedes that I had this hour, there was 2 near me in my home office area(its in a basement) and we have had centipede problems here before)I freaked out as normal, then kinda eased myself back overto the little critters holding 2 bottles on of
"fantastik all purpose cleaner" and of some antibactierial bottle, and I sprayed the centipedes until they litteraly froze it apears to have acted like a sedative for them, or it may have caused them excruciating pain, all I know is they sat motionless for nearly 5 minutes 1 i squashed with a stool leg(I keep my distance lol) and the other moved towards me and I kept spraying it, it got 1 inch from my toeso I moved my foot and started back at the spraying eventualy took a baby wipe and threw it in the trash(it was still alive, I wrapped it up in the babywipe well so that it would have the constant effects of the babywipes stuff on it and it most likely would not escape it. even when looking at your pictures of garden centipedes I get the shivers and cant stand them, I suppose I should download pictures of centipedes and continue to view them alot until the pictures no longer make me uneasy then if i find another house centipede I'll gather some ants and keep it as a pet for a few hours, let it crawl across my hand or somthing, and then I should eventualy be cured

hi I'm same poster as the one which I'm replying to

sorry for the long post, hell its the size of your blog post almost

and since I know someone will say something bout me mistreating them or something, take this into mind, my office is also my bedroom. it is 4AM I am about to go to bed, and I do not need to know there are centipedes in my room until I wake up, if i know they are here I cant sleep even if I see one for half a second somewhere else my mind gets stuck scared for a long time and I will never get to sleep

also I live in Minnesota one of the worst states in the USA for mosquitoes,(now that, I have no fear of, and these things are harmful) I personally dont want to go outside in the middle of the night to set the centipedes outside, when I come back in I'd look like a person on an acne commercial, also, unfortunately mosquitoes will come in with me and bite me and my family as we sleep, dunno bout you guys but i dont like waking up with itchy lumps covering my body.

a fear of centipedes would probilally be myriophobia, millipedes and centipedes being myriopods. i think.

I just discovered this sort of thing in my bathroom, it's the first time seeing one, they aren't even supposed to live where I live and I have now officially a phobia.
Through the years I have believed that I have loads of phobias, but now I know the difference between being afraid and having a phobia.
And harmless or not, I'm not capable of stepping down of my bed and on the floor even knowing that that thing is dead and somewhere in the sea.
But still, thanks for posting this, it puts me on ease knowing that those things are not dangerous to humans, although I had to cover the computer with a book when I saw the centipede, since I couldn't watch it and clearly not put my hand anywhere near it.

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365 Urban Species. #079: Garden Centipede

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Chilopodophobia

centipede

Re: centipede

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I have whatever phobia this is for sure

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the phobia

Phobia