Well, they do, indeed, sting - or bite. At least in Georgia. I just had one crawl across my throat while I slept -- I awoke to the movement, sweeping it off of my skin.....evidently it did not take kindly to the movement and bit/stung me on its way across the bed. At first I had no idea what had stung me (a mild bee-sting in terms of the degree of pain), but a turning over of my pillows uncovered it and it ran off behind the bed. Now my question is: whose bed is it? I've often had discussions with spiders where we've come to an agreement that allows us to co-exist in the same room without my being bitten or their being squashed.....but I've never tried that with a centipede.......I'd prefer not to get bitten/stung again.....not to mention the image of it crawling across me giving me cause to shiver. Curious about symbolism. I'm guessing, for me, it has something to do with getting my feet moving......also linked with 5th chakra, as that's where it appeared and stung me. hmmmmmmmm