Like the millipedes, centipedes are highly segmented (15 to 173 segments), but with only one pair of walking legs per segment. Centipedes are dorso-ventrally flattened, and are among the fastest and most agile of non-flying arthropod predators.

The head of a centipede has a pair of antennae, jaw-like mandibles, and other mouthparts. The most anterior trunk segment of a centipede has a pair of venomous claws (called maxillipedes) that are used for both defense and for capturing and paralyzing prey. Despite their name, which stems from the Latin words centum (meaning 'hundred') and pes, pedis (meaning 'foot'), they normally have around half that number of legs, though it is possible to find centipedes with over 200 legs.

The house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) is a fast-moving carnivore that feeds on insects such as cockroaches, house flies, and other small house pests, and is thus harmless to humans, but its alarming appearance and painful bite often results in its extermination from residences. The bite of a smaller centipede in temperate areas may be similar to a bee sting, but the bite of a larger tropical species is excruciatingly painful, leaving two black puncture wounds about a centimeter apart.


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Julie Nellis, ABR, ASR, GRI, e-Pro
Associate Broker
Long Realty
1890 E. River Rd
Tucson, AZ 85718
520-918-3843