Baby’s New Friend
Location: Southern New Jersey
September 4, 2010 2:28 pm
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my 8 month old son reaching for this fast-crawling bug! My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I whisked him away. I don’t want to teach him to be scared of bugs, but don’t know what this is! Please help, so if I see another one I will know whether my fear is justified!
Thank you =)
Signature: Scared Mommy
Possibly Stone Centipede
Dear Scared Mommy,
What we can say for certain is that this is a Centipede and it is not a House Centipede which we tell people is a benign predator that will help keep their homes free of cockroaches and spiders. The legs on your Centipede are too short for it to be a House Centipede. The angle of your photograph with its foreshortening makes it difficult to make out details on the Centipede that might aid in our identification. This may be a Stone Centipede in the order Lithobiomorpha which BugGuide describes as having fifteen pairs of legs. That is the number we get when attempting to count on your photograph. Centipedes have fangs and venom, and though the bite is not deadly, it can be painful. The University of Kentucky Entomology website has a Centipede page with some good information, and a photo of a Stone Centipede. There is also a really nice page on the Stone Centipede on the Backyard Arthropod Project Blog about creatures from Michigan, or more specifically “A Field Guide to the North Side of Old Mill Hill, Atlantic Mine, MI.” We doubt the Stone Centipede would have bitten your son, but in the event he was bitten, there would be little more than a local reaction.
Thank you so much for your thorough response and information! Although I didn’t get a better photo of our centipede, I think your descriptions you sent seem to match what we saw. I am happy to know that the bite is not deadly, but will still try to find better playmates for our baby!
Long and Lean NOT every young girls dream!
Location: Hamlet, North Carolina
August 8, 2010 11:35 pm
Found this thing slithering along a base board in my son’ bedroom. What is it??
Thank You
House Centipede Carnage
While the lowly House Centipede may appear frightening, and it may not fulfill many expectations in the dreaminess department, it is nonetheless a beneficial predator. Tolerating its presence may help to prevent the proliferation of every homemaker’s nightmare, an infestation of Cockroaches. House Centipedes are harmless nocturnal predators that prey upon spiders and other unwanted insects and arthropods that enter the home and become a nuisance or otherwise cause harm or damage. We would encourage you to be tolerant the next time you see a House Centipede scurrying around indoors.
Thank you for identifying him for us. Had I seen it, I would have just removed him outside. My son (who killed it) has autism and he has a great fear of unknown bugs. I’ve tried to teach him to trap the bug and then show it to me, but he still kills them. 
I will be sure to let him know the bug is fine and explain to him their importance as well as their significance in the meaning of homeostasis. Again, thank you for your quick reply. You have just prevented any future demise to the house centipede. 
I. D. this crazy looking bug, please.
July 13, 2010
Dear bugman: I think I’ve seen this bug before back in a summer night of 1992 in Japan. To my surprise, I saw this one at my dad’s house in Roseburg, Oregon. It was not easy to catch!!! With 30 legs it was very quick and could turn and move like Micheal Jordan!
Thank you, Dr. Lee Willis DDS
Southern OREGON
House Centipede
Dear Dr. Willis,
This common House Centipede is frequently found in the home where it startles residents. House Centipedes are harmless nocturnal predators that will help keep the home clear of cockroaches and other undesirable creatures.
Giant Texas Red-Headed Centipede
July 9, 2010
Just thought you would enjoy this pic. This is an older picture (2008 or so), shot by my ex-boyfriend, from a house we lived in that was never sprayed with chemical insecticides. We didn’t believe in them, and luckily neither did our landlady, so we had a menagerie of critters. No real bug problems though–they left us alone and stayed outside for the most part. We had a family of these under the house as well as a family of tarantulas. I had never heard of them prior to seeing this one, and we originally thought it was a snake. Impressive guy! From what I hear they hurt like hell though if they walk across you. We never got much closer than this. Wish I could find another property manager that would leave the land alone. Most people would think I was crazy, but it was fun to have so much rare wildlife right in our back yard.
Laura
Austin, Texas
Giant Red Headed Centipede
Hi Laura,
Thanks for sending us your photo of a Giant Red Headed Centipede, Scolopendra heros, a magnificent creature. Most of our reports are from Texas and Oklahoma.
Interested to know what the heck this is.
June 29, 2010
The past couple of months something has been biting me and my family members. I haven’t ever seen it though. I was thinking it might have been a spider of some kind but i think this is the culprit. I saw him dart across my floor and i gave chase. i tried to save the little guy but my girlfriend freaked out and killed it. I still managed to get some pics of it. I would really like to know what this is, Thank you!
p.s. its a little less than an inch long and maybe 2 to 3 millimeters wide.
Chuck
Southern Virginia, great dismal swamp area
House Centipede
Hi Chuck,
Thank you for writing in to inquire about this unfortunate harmless House Centipede, a frequent victim of Unnecessary Carnage. Few examples of Unnecessary Carnage sadden us more that that of the beneficial predatory House Centipede. Though it is too late to benefit the individual in your tragic photograph, perhaps future House Centipedes will be spared through education. House Centipedes are generally nocturnal hunters that will prey upon cockroaches and other undesirable household intruders. House Centipedes should be considered as household visitors despite their startling appearance.
Stripey Bug found in Private Forrest
June 9, 2010
Found this bug walking through my room, thought it was brought in from firewood from our private forest. It was fairly slow, even when running.
Nathan
Drouin, Victoria, Australia
House Centipede
Hi Nathan,
This is a harmless House Centipede. It appears to be Allothereua maculata, a species found in Asia and Australia, and you can compare your specimen to the image on the Natural History Museum of London website. The species is different from our common North American species, Scutigera coleoptrata, which though it is found in many places throughout the world, it is believed to have originated in the Mediterranean area, according to BugGuide. Since we know we will be out of the office from June 15 through June 22, we are setting your letter and photo to post live during our absence so our readership can get daily updates in our absence.
High-Def Photo of House Centipede
June 2, 2010
Hello! I love your website, and am also an amateur photographer. A lovely house centipede was resting in my basement office and was patient enough with me to let me test out the macro features on my camera. I hope to get a chance to photograph some more interesting bugs sometime soon!
(also, I’m sorry if I sent multiple emails. I was having issues with the form.)
Katy
Toledo, OH
House Centipede
Hi Katy,
YOur House Centipede photo is quite nice. We look forward to getting additional images from you in the future.
Nothing I’ve Seen Before
May 18, 2010
Hello,
This bug was found scurrying across the floor of my workplace in Columbus, Ohio. I found it yesterday (May 16th) around midnight on a damp, cloudy/rainy day. Our store is next to the interstate, in an industrial part of town.
Shawn
Midwest – Ohio
House Centipede
Hi Shawn,
The House Centipede is a common nocturnal household predator that is found throughout North America as well as in many other parts of the world. House Centipedes are harmless.
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