rss
What is this caterpillar? Does it eat wood?
January 10, 2010
We need to know what this is and if it eats wood because they are appearing all over our home. It is 1 inch long and only about 1/8 inch wide.
Debbie Roberts
Honolulu, Hawaii
Millipede
Hi Debbie,
This is a Millipede, not a caterpillar. They eat decomposing matter and will not harm wood. The Star Bulletin Hawaii News website has an online article on Millipedes in Hawaii.
Thanks for the quick response!!! 
Most Horrific Thing I’ve Ever Seen
November 18, 2009
Hello!
My roommates and I have been finding these disgusting looking bugs around our house. They are in all rooms and have been found on the floor, walls, and ceililng. Aside from their gross appearance (if it’s not obvious by now, we are a bunch of girls – literally), when they die, all their legs seem to pop off. This makes sense when we smash them, but they’ve also died because we sprayed for them and as they crawl along, slowly dying, the legs seemed to disconnect. Perhaps I should mention they have more legs then I thought possible. They seem to go all around their body. The one in the picture is the biggest we’ve seen so far, it is about two inches in length. The average is 1-1 1/2 inches. Please help!
Horrified in the Heartland
Central Illinois
House Centipede
Dear Horrified,
If you are not seeing any cockroaches, it is probably because these beneficial and harmless House Centipedes are feeding upon them at night. Should you succeed in eliminating all the House Centipedes, you may find that the Cockroaches and Bedbugs and Silverfish will proliferate. Our advice is to learn to live in harmony with the House Centipedes and allow them to keep your home pest free.
Thanks Daniel! It would be nice if the “good” bugs would clearly identify themselves and not look so scary. Perhaps I will try and convey that to them next time I see one. Thanks again!
Striped, Gangly, 30-legged bug!
November 6, 2009
My friend Brandon sent me the photo along with this message: “I was pouring myself a soda next to the kitchen sink, when I turned around and spotted this on the wall. Not what you want to see behind you after you turn the lights on.”
Its body is about 3cm long, and including the legs it’s about 10cm long. I became very curious after seeing the photo, I just had to submit it!
Laura L. W., Roseville, CA
Lake of the Pines, Auburn, CA
House Centipede
Hi Laura,
What Brandon has labeled the Bug of Doom is a harmless, beneficial House Centipede. This nocturnal predator is not known to bite people, will run away when the lights are snapped on, and will eat cockroaches and other undesirable household intruders if left alone to forage.
redhead centipede
October 12, 2009
hi we live in arkansas and we found this centipede i have read some other post on here and now it has a name what i was wondering is this giant redheaded centipede a native of arkansas? all the other post that ive read the centipede are in texas
troy
van buren,arkansas
Red Headed Centipede
Hi Troy,
BugGuide reports sightings of the Red HEaded Centipede in Arkansas. Arkansas is contiguous with Texas. Wildlife does not recognize state or international borders. We would deduce that Red Headed Centipedes naturally range in Arkansas.
Red Headed Centipede
Huge Bug Killed Mouse, what is it?
September 30, 2009
We found this when we were checking our mouse traps yesterday. As you will notice, it is about the same length of the mouse and its thorax (don’t no if I am using this correctly, but the width of its body not including the legs) was as wide as a pencil. The mouse trap is still set, but the mouse is dead, presumably at the hands of the creature seen next to it, therefore, it is possibly posionous as well. Can you help us figure out what this is, and is it dangerous. P.S. Our house has many small centipide looking things, at the absolute biggest they are 2 inches, but very narrow, could this just be a mutated version of those?
Person who lives in the basement with this thing
Basement
House Centipede eats Mouse
Dear Person who lives in the basement,
WE are enthralled with your image of a House Centipede with a mouse. Though we have not heard of House Centipedes preying upon small mammals, your photo would indicate that this is a possibility. House Centipedes do have venom, but they are not dangerous to humans.
Thank You
August 22, 2009
Your website is the greatest! I am pretty phobic about bugs, but am trying to overcome it (and avoid Needless Carnage). I awoke earlier tonight to the sight of a extremely large specimen of house centipede on the ceiling directly over my bed. I had seen this guy once before in my bedroom, and really didn’t want to have to deal with disposing of him–yuck. Thanks to your website, I’ve learned that he is actually beneficial, so I’m going to stop freaking out and just leave him be for the time being (unless he ends up in bed with me!). I also wanted to share this entomology link on house centipedes with you: http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/house-centipedes. I particularly enjoyed the quote from a 1902 source, which is both amusing and still accurate today!
Casey
Found your site; saved a bug!
July 27, 2009
Dear WTB,
Today I had the wonderful experience of settling down comfortably at my computer…and promptly having a house centipede fall on me from my ceiling.
I’ve never seen one of these little guys, and as fond as I am of bugs (I tend to release them on my patio if they seem intimidating, or if my cat tries to eat them and I spot them before he can), I had a bit of a panic trying to figure out what it was. I only counted 10 legs (poor little guy seemed to have lost a few, according to descriptions of it having 15) and it didn’t seem too recognizable compared to anything else I’d seen.
Your website helped me figure out what it was, and what good it does in my household. I released it a bit aways from where I like to relax so it wouldn’t bother me, and it could hopefully go around eating pests I don’t like in my house. I’m so glad that I didn’t squish it out of initial fear; it didn’t do me any harm, no more than a little shock, and it turns out that it’s like a little buddy keeping things that bite away. But ,browsing through your site and finding it, did me a world of good. It’s always comforting to know what you have isn’t unusual or harmful, and whether or not you should be releasing it far away or just letting it mosey along on its own business.
I’ve been browsing your site and I love all the good you’re doing by spreading knowledge about insects and encouraging people not to kill them on sight. Hopefully I’ll find an interesting bug to take a picture of for one of your posts!
Many thanks for helping me identify my new housemate,
~Jenny~
Possible plot for a horror movie? I think not.
July 24, 2009
It was like a horror movie gone wrong. Margaret, our volunteer receptionist, came into my office to give me a postage stamp she’d saved for my Mum. At 80, Margaret has a few mobility problems and she’s really not walking too well at the moment. As she turned slowly to go back out to reception, she yelled, “What’s that? Oh my god, kill it, kill it!”
I turned and saw she was looking at the floor. I jumped up, expecting to see some monster ready to attack. At the same time, my survival instinct kicked in and I prepared myself to push Margaret out of the way and escape if I had to – compassion only goes so far, you know.
And then I saw it – the monster. In Margaret’s eyes it was so fat it looked pregnant. It was hideous, as far as she was concerned, and it had to die or it would kill us.
No, I told her, I wasn’t going to kill it. I had an empty plastic cup on my desk so I used that to scoop it up, though I did have to chase it to get it.
“Don’t let it come near me!” screamed Margaret.
With my head held high, hero fashion, I took my captive out to the scrubby area near the old warehouse along the street and set it free to live another day, thinking that if it wanted to, it would find its way into the warehouse soon enough.
Such are the everyday dramas at the Oswego NY Branch of the American Red Cross.
Susan, house centipede rescuer
Dear Susan,
Thanks so much for sending us your gripping account of an Unnecessary Carnage intervention.
Unknown Bug
July 19, 2009
Hello,
I found this bug outside my house and can’t figure out what it is. It has a one segment body. Fourteen legs on each side. A false set of antennae on the back side and it looks like it also has pinchers on the front.
Curious Bugman
Upland, California which is at the base of Mt. Baldy of the Inland Empire.
House Centipede
House Centipede
thx – do they bite? are they poisonous? thx in advance
You can find tons of info on the House Centipede online, and though all centipedes have venom, the House Centipede is not dangerous to humans and we have not gotten any reports of bites though we get 100s of ID requests per year.
PLEASE IDENTIFY THIS DISGUSTING BUG FROM PITTSBURGH
Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 8:58 PM
Help Bugman!!!
This type of bug has appeared 3-4 times in our house in the past 1-3 weeks.
Tonight I had to take a picture of it after we killed it.
It’s got to be poisonous, it’s terrrrible looking.
It’s got like 6 or 10 legs and it is just uggggly.
We live right near a ‘forest’ and honestly, JUST now, my roomate discovered another one as I’m typing.
Help! PLEASE!!!
What should we tell our exterminator!!!
What should we buy to protect ourselves
Thank you so much
Henry
Pittsburgh, PA, in basement 2bedroom living quarter
House Centipede Smashed
Unnecessary Carnage?
Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 6:29 PM
First, I must say there are some great pictures on your site. I scrolled through everything to try to find an answer, but I don’t even know what category this fits into. You may be able to tell that this bug was squished, so I’ll give you details the picture might not show. It’s just over an inch long and its antennae were quite long (almost as long as the body?) Unfortunately I can’t tell whether it has legs or not, but its underbelly appears to have several tiny ridges. The 3 vertical stripes are quite distinctive. I live in Windsor, ON (directly across the border from Detroit) and found it in my bedroom this evening. We’ve had some water damage in the house and also have carpenter ants (which I confirmed from several pictures here – thanks!). As well it has been humid here lately, so I’m not sure if that’s a factor.
Any insight you could provide would be appreciated.
Many thanks, Cheryl
Windsor, ON
House Centipede Extinguished
Whoops! Cancel that email!
Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Sent you an email earlier tonight entitled “Unnecessary Carnage?” and have discovered, to my embarrassment, that it is in fact a house centipede. I moved so quickly to kill the poor bugger that I didn’t see all of the legs (and wasn’t about to pick its corpse apart to investigate).
I’ve bookmarked your site so I can identify the next critter that makes itself known! 
Many thanks (again), Cheryl
Windsor, ON
Dear Henry and Cheryl,
You have both unnecessarily exterminated a harmless House Centipede. They do look frightening, and though they have venom, the venom is harmless to humans in the extremely unlikely scenario that they might bite someone. You are far better off having House Centipedes patrolling your homes at night, dispatching Bed Bugs whose populations are on the rise, than you would be getting bitten by the Bed Bugs. No exterminators are necessary.
Unnecessary Carnage Update
September 18, 2009
My Unnecessary Carnage 
I just found your website while researching the bug that I have squished (although not confirmed). I was sitting in my darkened living room in the wee hours of the night and caught some rapid movement from the corner of my eye. I quickly turned on a light and settled back on the sofa. Perhaps five minutes later I saw a large bug on my ceiling, which through your site I have identified as a House Centipede. I have seen other bugs of this type and have not been bothered as they are a fairly small bug and the only things that really bother me are spiders – I’m arachnophobic after a traumatic (for me and possibly the spider) experience but I don’t typically kill spiders just make sure I know where they are at all times, avoid them if possible or await their relocation or sadly, their ‘remo val’. Alas, I digress – back to the event from today. As I said I have seen others of this type of centipede before and they didn’t bother me but this specimen was quite large. It appeared to be at least 2 inches long, and looked much bigger/wider due to the many legs. Since it was on my ceiling and they move so fast I felt I had 2 options: leave it or try to get rid of it. I chose the second and grabbed my broom. I swatted at it and it fell to the floor, camouflaged by the beige carpeting and dashed for the nearest hiding spot, under a cabinet, with me swatting at it. I am not positive that I extinguished its life and kept a vigil for 5-10 minutes and didn’t see any signs of it. I think their speed would impede their safe removal in the future. Is there any way to safely remove them? I find bugs fascinating when I happen upon them outside. I am originally from Eastern Canada and have been living and enjoying the variety of bugs here – I was very excited to see a praying man tis and even a Hercules beetle. I don’t go out of my way to look f or them but feel the need to do something if I see them and I’d much prefer to escort them safely outside. I am sorry that I killed (maybe) the bug and would really appreciate some feedback.
Sincerely Apologetic,
Sarah in VA
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your nice letter. Since it came in as a comment not connected to a specific post, we are attaching it to two previous letters with the shared subject matter of House Centipedes killed unnecessarily. First off, we are going to let you off the guilty hook because we don’t believe you killed that fast little bugger. House Centipedes are quite evasive. As far as advising you on how to best remove them, we don’t really have any suggestions. House Centipedes seem quite fond of human domiciles, and they easily enter homes. As you noted, they are so quick, it is difficult to capture them. Dare we suggest that you just learn to coexist? Since you are arachnophobic, the House Centipede will most likely help keep your indoor spider population under control as well as feasting on other undesirable intruders like cockroaches.
Harpaphe millipede?
Sat, May 2, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Dear Identifiers of Insects,
This time I’m writing about a huge millipede that keeps attempting to cross a heavily-trafficked footpath; I’ve rescued him twice, and am wondering what type he is. Sort of looks like a picture I found online of ”black and yellow millipede” or ”Harpaphe” genus, but the legs on that were black, not yellow.
This fella is a good three inches long, and rather hefty as far as bugs go! Certainly the largest millipede I’ve ever seen.
Thanks! Hope you find the photo interesting!
R. Thompson
Yellow Spotted Millipede
Dear R. Thompson,
Your submission to our website did not use our newly formatted form that requests a location, so we have no idea where this Millipede was found. This also means that you have written to our site before. We hope you write back with your location. We believe you are correct that your Yellow Spotted Centipede is in the genus Harpaphe, probably Harpaphe haydeniana, The following remarks are according to BugGuide: “This particular millipede secretes a dark fluid that has an odor similar to the almond extract used in cooking. Apparently this is a defensive manuveur. Millipedes also curl up in tight coils when threatened. (1)
Caution: Many millipedes with bright color patterns secrete a compound containing cyanide. Wash your hands after handling them and do not allow children to pick them up.
‘Millipedes are entirely non-toxic to humans and can be picked up by hand. Some secretions discolor the skin, but this wears away in a few days without lasting effect. Some large, cylindrical, tropical species squirt their defensive secretions up to a half meter (2-3 feet) and can blind chickens and dogs. Their fluids are painful if they get into the eyes, and persons working with tropical millipedes should be suitably cautious.’ ~Rowland Shelley
Harpaphe is in the tribe Xystodesmini.“
Sorry about that – the location of the millipede is Chapel Hill, NC.
I didn’t pick him up with my hands, but let him crawl onto a stick.
Thanks for the info!
Excellent. An eastern species is Sigmoria trimaculata, and it has yellow legs. You can also see photos of this species posted to BugGuide and there are reports of representatives of the genus from North Carolina.
Saturday 18 April 2009, 5:30 PM
We turned over a rock in the garden today and were surprised by this large Soil Centipede.
Soil Centipede
According to BugGuide, it is in the genus Strigamia, but there is virtually no information. The Soil Centipede page for the Order Geophilomorpha has a bit more information, including: “Size Most are less than 5 cm, some reach 17 cm. (1)
Identification Slender eyeless centipedes that have 31 to 177 pairs of legs and antennae with 14 segments. The number of pairs of legs is always odd. (1)
Habitat They can penetrate as deep as 70 cm into soil and feed on insect larvae and worms.”
Soil Centipede
Our own observation included that this overthree inch long specimen could move equally proficiently in reverse, with the entire centipede walking backwards. It was very difficult for us to take these images. The camera no longer autofoces, and the batteries were dying. We had to shut the camera off after almost every image, and then refocus each time. The Soil Centipede was moving quickly and was difficult to focus on. A straight line measured on today’s LA Times from the s in Washington to the u in discuss is 2 7/8 inches, and that doesn’t include the bend in the Soil Centipede’s body.
Soil Centipede
