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Special Feature Of House Centipede And Interesting Facts
Centipedes are long and flat creatures and move so fast that it takes them a few seconds to disappear in the dark. Apart from this, centipedes are also called hundred leggers because hundreds of legs are attached to its body.
Did you know that the pair of legs of centipedes is always in odd numbers? Centipedes are nocturnal in nature and can sometimes be seen in bathrooms or other rooms with moisture in the air.
Centipedes prefer to live mostly in moist, dark and cool places in their habitat as they are nocturnal in nature. The word centipede literally means 100 legs. A centipede has about 15-177 pairs of legs in its entire life.
Where Are Centipede Found
Centipedes can be easily seen all over the world whether it is in South America, North America, Europe or Africa. Some of the most unique and largest species of centipedes are found in South America. Centipedes come into homes to eat species like cockroaches and spiders. Also, sometimes heat attracts these centipedes to breed.
One of the best house centipede facts is that centipedes are great mothers as they believe in staying with their babies as long as they need. They take care of their babies until the babies are big enough to take care of themselves.
Scientific Name Of Centipede
The scientific name of centipede is Chilopoda and centipedes are arthropods belonging to the Chilopoda class. Centipedes have 15 pairs of legs. Apart from this, there are many different types of centipedes including black centipede, water centipede, giant centipede, Hawaiian centipede, house centipede and giant desert centipede.
Habitat Of Centipede
Centipede has a wide geographical range and has habitats ranging from arctic to terrestrial habitats, tropical rainforests to deserts. Centipedes mostly prefer to live alone compared to bees or ants. From house centipedes to wild centipedes, they live alone.
Centipede is sometimes called solitary hunter because it likes to live and hunt alone. Centipede bites are not difficult to identify and their bites have two puncture marks which makes them easy to identify. The amount of pain that a person feels depends on the amount of venom injected by the centipede and swelling is quite common.
How Centipede Look Like
The body of a house centipede is worm-like and is divided into segments. A centipede has about 100 legs and somewhere around 15 pairs of legs. The body of a centipede is brown or yellow and has dark stripes on each segment.
A centipede has a pair of antennae on its head but its mouth is small and it stores venom in a claw-like structure. Its body is waxy segmented, with small eyes and antennae. Read- The World Largest Lizard Komodo Dragon Unique Facts
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Size Of Centipede
The most common member of this species is the house centipede and centipedes are 0.16-12 inches long with 15 to 177 pairs of legs. The antennae and the last few pairs of legs of the centipede are much longer than its body. Centipedes are extremely light in weight, so light that their weight often cannot be measured.
What Do Centipede Eat
Most centipede species are carnivorous and their diet includes insects, spiders, bugs, cockroaches, flies, moths, crickets, silverfish, earwigs, small spiders.
How Do Centipedes Reproduce
Almost all centipede species reproduce by sexual mode of reproduction and there are some species that use asexual mode known as parthenogenesis. Sexual reproduction in centipedes is initiated by the male and the centipedes begin the process by laying small webs around wherever the retrieval of the sperm package by the female is possible.
The female centipede then retrieves the package and uses it to lay eggs continuously under tree bark, stones or dirt. The female takes care of the eggs and raises the babies before the whole cycle repeats. The main breeding time for centipedes is the summer season.
How Long Do Centipedes Live
The lifespan of centipedes varies for different species and centipedes live up to 1 year some live up to six years.
How Fast Can Centipedes Run
Having a large number of legs provides centipedes with good speed. The speed of centipedes helps them as predators as well as prey. Centipedes can cover a distance of up to 1.3 feet per second with the help of their many legs, which helps centipedes to escape predators easily.
How Do Centipedes Communicate
Centipedes have very poor vision, so centipedes use their sense of touch to move and communicate. Apart from this, centipedes also use the movement of their antennae and legs as well as their sense of smell and sound to communicate.
How Many Centipedes Are There In The World
There are about 8,000 species of centipedes around the world and centipedes are not listed as extinct but there is one species of centipede that is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. This is the Serpent Island centipede which is found in Africa. Read- Top 11 Dumbest Bird Who Do Not Learn From Their Mistakes
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Behavior Of Centipede
The venom used by the house centipede to kill its prey is toxic and is unlikely to cause any health complications for humans. Some centipedes have venom that can cause allergies in some humans so centipedes can be dangerous.
Centipede Facts For Kids
1. Are centipedes harmful to humans?
Small centipede stings cause nothing more than a painful, localized reaction. But larger species of centipedes emit more venom through the bite and can cause more intense pain. Centipede bites can be very painful but centipedes are not fatal to humans.
2. Is a centipede a poisonous insect?
Centipedes are long segmented creatures and each segment of their body has a pair of legs. All centipedes found in the world are venomous and can deliver painful stings. Centipedes inject their venom through pincer-like appendages known as forcipules or toxicognaths.
4. How many centipedes are left in the world
There are about 8,000 species of centipedes around the world and centipedes are not listed as extinct but there is one species of centipede that is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN
5. How long do centipedes live?
Centipedes live up to 1 year and some live up to six years.
6. Can centipedes run fast?
Centipedes can travel up to 1.3 feet per second with the help of their many legs which helps centipedes to escape predators easily.
7. Can centipedes enter the ear?
Yes it is possible for a centipede to get stuck in the external auditory canal, but this is a rare occurrence and can cause physical and emotional discomfort.
8. Is it safe to sleep with a centipede in your room?
Sleeping in a room with centipedes is safe because centipedes are not known to pose a direct threat to humans. Centipedes are predatory insects that eat other insects and rarely bite humans.
9. Are house centipedes bad?
House centipedes live in homes and other buildings. Although centipedes are fast and have long legs, which may scare some people, centipedes are harmless.
10. What do centipedes eat?
The diet of centipedes consists of insects, spiders, worms, cockroaches, flies, moths, crickets, silverfish, earwigs, small spiders.