Brown Centipede

Brown Centipede

Phylum : Arthropoda
Subphylum : Myriapoda
Class : Chilopoda
Order : Lithobiomorpha
Family : Lithobiidae
Genus : Lithobius
Species : L. forficatus

Length : Up to 2in (5cm)

IUCN Status : Not Listed

The Brown Centipede is a very common species of Myriapod that can be found most often in Europe, though their distribution extends outside that range.They are a reddish-brown color, have large antennae, and live in a variety of different habitats.

As adults, Brown Centipedes have 15 pairs of legs, giving them thirty overall. You can tell a juvenile from an adult by counting up the digits. Less than 30 legs means that it still has some growing to do. Brown centipedes are born with 7 pairs, and they have to molt their exoskeletons as they age. Each molt grants them a new set of legs!

Females have an interesting way of laying their eggs. They dig a hole and deposit one egg. Then they dig another hole for another single egg, and so on. Eggs are laid in summer, and Brown Centipedes can live as long as 6 years!

Brown Centipedes are nocturnal carnivores, and they have a couple of neat features that help them to hunt and devour prey. First off, they have two venomous claws they they use to paralyze their targets. Secondly, their back set of legs is much longer than any other set, which allows them to hold on to and carry around meals. Humans should not be fearful of Brown Centipedes. They may try and attack with the venom if threatened, but they rarely break skin. Even if they do, the injury is more mild then your average bee sting.

Brown Centipede

Brown Centipede

Phylum : Arthropoda

Subphylum : Myriapoda

Class : Chilopoda

Order : Lithobiomorpha

Family : Lithobiidae

Genus : Lithobius

Species : L. forficatus



Length : Up to 2in (5cm)



IUCN Status : Not Listed



The Brown Centipede is a very common species of Myriapod that can be found most often in Europe, though their distribution extends outside that range.They are a reddish-brown color, have large antennae, and live in a variety of different habitats.



As adults, Brown Centipedes have 15 pairs of legs, giving them thirty overall. You can tell a juvenile from an adult by counting up the digits. Less than 30 legs means that it still has some growing to do. Brown centipedes are born with 7 pairs, and they have to molt their exoskeletons as they age. Each molt grants them a new set of legs!



Females have an interesting way of laying their eggs. They dig a hole and deposit one egg. Then they dig another hole for another single egg, and so on. Eggs are laid in summer, and Brown Centipedes can live as long as 6 years!



Brown Centipedes are nocturnal carnivores, and they have a couple of neat features that help them to hunt and devour prey. First off, they have two venomous claws they they use to paralyze their targets. Secondly, their back set of legs is much longer than any other set, which allows them to hold on to and carry around meals. Humans should not be fearful of Brown Centipedes. They may try and attack with the venom if threatened, but they rarely break skin. Even if they do, the injury is more mild then your average bee sting.

Arthropleura

(Image Source)

Phylum : Arthropoda
Subphylum : Myriapoda
Class : Arthropleuridea
Order : Arthropleurida
Family : Arthropleuridae
Genus : Arthropleura

Length : Up to 8.5ft (2.6m)

Status : Extinct for about 280 million years!

Arthropleura lived in forests during the Carboniferous Period between 340-280 million years ago. At this time oxygen levels were much higher than they are now, which allowed for insects to reach much larger sizes. Another contribution to their hugeness was a lack of large vertebrate predators. Arthropleura had a long, flat, segmented body with as many as thirty sets of legs. They were distant relatives of the millipedes that we have today, and they have the designation of being the largest land invertebrates of all time!

We've found a whole mess of fossilized Arthropleura footprints, as well as many fossils of the animals themselves. Scientists aren't completely sure of Arthropleura's diet, since we don't have full jaws left to study, but it was most likely a herbivore based on plant materials found in coprolites (fossilized excrement).

Near the end of the Carboniferous Period the world began to dry out and the forested habitats of Arthropleura begin to shrink. This in turn caused a decrease of oxygen in the atmosphere, and Arthropleura could no longer maintain its large body size. They eventually died out, along with their entire Class. Other myriapods exist in their place today, though they are of minuscule size by comparison, with the largest measuring up to 1 ft (30cm).

House Centipede

Inspired by a crisis at work involving one of these little friends, today I present the House Centipede. Though there are a few species who are commonly called the House Centipede, the most abundant of them is Scutigera coleoptrata. It was originally found only in the Mediterranean region, but not you can spot them worldwide. House Centipedes are not actually "insects." They belong to the Myriapoda subphylum, rather than Hexapoda, which houses the class Insecta.

Image from BugGuide

House Centipedes have 15 pairs of legs and can grow to about 2 inches in length. Their final pair of legs grows much longer than the rest. The Centipede's legs are vital for both movement (obviously) and hunting. they are very fast moving and are able to darts about on many kinds of surfaces, vertical or horizontal. They are able to consume multiple types of prey at a single time, and will hold additional meals within its legs. House Centipedes feed on insects and smaller arthropods, including flies, crickets and spiders.

House Centipedes live both indoors and out. Many people consider them to be pests and they are actually pretty hard to get rid of. They can live up to 7 years, and even if you lay out sticky traps, they can probably escape them. They will rip out the stuck leg... which can simply be regrown. House Centipedes are not dangerous to the average human. If they feel threatened they may bite, but the venom is very mild and will cause only a small bit of swelling.