365 Urban Species. #147: House Centipede
May. 27th, 2006 09:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)

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Urban species #147: House centipede Scutigera coleoptrata
Well, if you made it past the photograph you're better than most. No other animal, pound for pound, can excite and distress people quite like the house centipede. It appears suddenly, fifteen pairs of legs propelling it across the wall at great speed. Even people who are fully aware that this animal is a beneficial member of the household, eating small flies and other insects, will kill it on sight.
Apparently indigenous to the Mediterranean (a region of origin for numerous urban species) and then accidentally transported to subtropical America, the house centipede has made the building by building journey to northern states. Like house mice, house flies, and several species of cockroach, they are always found in association with humans in their new temperate range. The great indoors serves as a series of subtropical islands, temperature and humidity controlled for the primates that created it.
Unlike other centipedes, house centipedes' body segments are fused; also its legs are unusually long, and are of different legths. Each of these adaptations probably adds to the creature's running speed. The racing stripes probably don't make it any faster, but help make it a distinctive and attractive animal. Still with me?
All centipedes are predators that hunt with a pair of legs that have been modified into venomous fangs. House centipedes are reputed to be capable of delivering a bee sting-like bite to humans, but I have yet to hear a first person account. For my part, I have handled them without incident--your results may vary. If indeed they can pierce human skin and inject venom, an allergic reaction could result, as in any envenomation.
House centipedes are a personal favorite, and I have written about them previously here: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/60469.html
and
here: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/64272.html
and centipedes in general
here: http://urbpan.livejournal.com/tag/centipede
one of these creatures bit me
Date: 2006-08-07 11:14 pm (UTC)Just got stung...
Date: 2007-04-12 09:12 am (UTC)ewww
Date: 2007-05-13 08:07 pm (UTC)house centepedes
Date: 2007-06-02 02:30 am (UTC)Re: house centepedes
Date: 2007-06-02 09:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-15 03:34 am (UTC)The pinch was nothing serious - a reddish spot that went down in 20 min or so, but seriously creeped me out. I'm afraid of very little - I will generally leave spiders alone to their corners and enjoyed discovering that house centipedes are amazing predators - but when it comes to excessive legs I'm a complete wuss. Too many legs. Too fast. They can live in the basement, but upstairs is an instant squish :)
very common everywhere i've lived
Date: 2007-08-08 02:27 am (UTC)House Centipedes vs. American Cockroach?
Date: 2007-08-13 04:29 am (UTC)Re: House Centipedes vs. American Cockroach?
Date: 2007-08-13 08:42 pm (UTC)The zookeeper I spoke to in Hawaii said that giant toads (Bufo marinus) eat American cockroaches. Beyond that--I don't know; cats and chickens probably. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-12-04 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-04 03:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 09:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-09 05:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-09 09:53 am (UTC)http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2076.html
no subject
Date: 2008-06-10 01:42 am (UTC)they always manage to find their way into MY room.
a House Spider is highly more likely to be safe from my instant newspaper smashing/bug spraying.
if the thing wants to live in my house, it better stay away from my room. simple as that. . yes the things are a gross out, and the biting stories are not comforting.
i am not afraid of millipede's. their slower movements are far more comforting.
now reading this LJ Entry. i now get that the fast speed of House Centi's is for their predatory ways. . perhaps i will be nicer to them, if i have no trouble cupping them.
the photo presented here, actually makes the thing look cute.
just came across this in my search...
Date: 2008-06-23 05:29 pm (UTC)that said, i still want all of them DEAD! gone from the planet forever , i even want their pictures destroyed and any memory of their existence erased!
i know this is crazy but i swear that the creeps follow me... yesterday morning i woke up with one sleeping next to me!
aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
there, i feel better... thank you...
no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 02:35 am (UTC)welp. some good news, and some bad news
good news. there was a Centi in my house/basement.
bad news. i had to let it go outside...
my cousin and her friend sleep downstairs for sleep overs
so i couldnt leave it there. or in the kitchen.
-_- i wish i could have put it by the tree.
but it seemed fine wandering off on its own.
it was BIG...so it must have been eating something in the house 0_o blargh!!
after looking at the thing. i will try to add it to my list of "cute bugs not to kill on site" list
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 06:12 am (UTC)Re: Just got stung...
Date: 2008-09-13 09:47 am (UTC)Bites...
Date: 2008-12-11 05:24 pm (UTC)eww eww
Date: 2009-04-19 08:24 am (UTC)Centipede Roommates
Date: 2009-05-03 12:30 am (UTC)I've noticed that the small ones seem to travel in pairs. It would seem that the large ones travel alone. However, whenever I find the 'smalls', not far behind is the 'large'. I've had three instances where after discovering or or two smalls, in another nearby room or in the same room is a 'large'.
gross
Date: 2009-05-07 11:19 pm (UTC)Ick
Date: 2009-07-31 04:37 am (UTC)ewwy
Date: 2009-08-04 03:29 pm (UTC)