What are Centipedes?

Centipedes are long bugs, also known as thousand-leggers, and they often have a brownish or tan color. Some places have centipedes with shades of red. There are about 8000 species living across the world. The thousand-legger nickname is actually quite fitting for the bugs because they seem to use thousands of little legs to run really quickly across walls or floors.

Before going further, you should know that centipedes are not actually insects because they have too many legs. Bugs in that category usually have six or less legs. Besides, the bodies of insects are usually divided in three parts, while a centipede has multiple segments and a really small head. The different segments have a pair of legs, which means that a centipede with fifteen parts would have thirty legs.

Centipedes are arthropods. Just like arthropods, these bugs have skeletons on the exterior of their bodies as well as jointed, segmented legs. At first glance it would seem like they have one thousand legs, but they only have one pair for each body segment.

Although many arthropods have very strong shells which protects them from becoming dehydrated, this is different for the centipedes. This is the reason why they hunt during the night when it’s cooler. The ones living outdoors usually hide under fallen leaves and wood or rocks during the day time. Centipedes also lie dormant or stay in holes sometimes when it’s extremely hot and only come out after rainfall to hunt.

Centipedes can be described as carnivorous creatures and are extremely skilled hunters, even though they have poor eyesight. Their sense of touch and smell is very developed so these are used adeptly to hunt down preys and grab them with pincers which discharge venom. Centipedes usually kill and eat things like moths, cockroaches, spiders and houseflies.

Many describe the bugs as household pests, but they are actually helpful for getting rid insects. They hardly ever harm anyone, but humans generally fair them. As a matter fact, these bugs try not get too close to bite human beings. However, the bugs could still deliver a painful sting if they bite. In general, the smaller centipedes are usually in residential homes and they are about one to two inches long. But, some types are known to grow larger in certain places like North America where a giant desert centipede can grow to nine inches. This type usually preys on the small toads, rodents and lizards, as the insect meals are left for their smaller relatives.

Research shows that Amazonian giant centipedes are the largest species in the world and they generally feast on spiders, rodents, bats and more. One of these bugs can grow to over twelve inches in length.

What are Centipedes?