Elton Publications : Centipedes

How many legs?

A centipede is not an insect. Insects have six legs. The word 'centipede' suggests that centipedes have one hundred legs. This is not true. Most centipedes have less than fifty legs. If you look at the picture of the centipede, you can see that the body of a centipede has lots of small segments. Most of these segments have a pair of legs. When a centipede grows, it grows new body segments and new legs. So the bigger the centipede, the more legs it has.

Where are centipedes found?

In Australia, centipedes can be found in most places. They live in forests and in deserts. They live under rocks or in cracks in between rocks. People don't often see centipedes because the little animals are usually active at night.

Hunting

Because centipedes have very poor eyesight, they need to feel their prey. Then they can grasp the animal with their very powerful jaws. Centipedes then inject poison into their prey and hang on until it has taken effect. A centipede's bite is very painful but it will not kill a person. The prey of a centipede is usually an insect or a spider but it could also be a lizard or any other small animal.

Breeding

A female centipede lays her eggs in a rock crevice or under a rock. The eggs are very soft and small. Often, she will curl her body around the eggs and try to protect them.

Did you know?

1. Some centipedes can have up to 150 pairs of legs!

2. Centipedes are almost blind. A female which moves away from her eggs might later eat them because

she does not recognize them.

3. A centipede's jaws are actually a kind of leg.