What is this?
Location: Inside a house in Atlanta, GA
December 4, 2011 11:44 am
My wife totally freaked out when she saw this crawling up the wall Sunday Dec 3 in Atlanta, GA. She asked me to catch it and then release it outside. It moved at a great speed, but I was able to get it into a box. But before I got it outside it must have jumped out of the box. Definitely NOT an insect, spider, milli or centipede,
Signature: David JR
Dear David,
We want to begin by apologizing for the delay in our response, but we are using some free time during the holidays to catch up on unanswered mail and posting the best letters we find. We also want to commend your wife for suggesting that you catch and release this creature, and commend you for humoring her request and preserving harmony in the home, and we want to acknowledge this commendation by tagging you both as Bug Humanitarians. Though your letter indicates that this is definitely NOT a centipede, you are incorrect. This is a House Centipede, a shy nocturnal hunter that will help to keep undesirable creatures like Cockroaches from infesting your home. It does not look like most Centipedes because of its longer legs, but it is a true Centipede. We have maintained for years that this is a harmless species, and though it is possible that it might bite a person if it is carelessly handled, the greatest harm it seems to do on a regular basis is to startle folks with its rapid movements. Though you were unsuccessful in removing this House Centipede from the home, you can rest assured that it will continue to prey on undesirable creatures while hopefully passing unnoticed by hiding during the day.
I never did slow down and say thank you for taking the time to send me a reply. I was able to send a picture to my biology instructor and he also said it was a centipede. I guess I had just never saw one before, that is why I was so sure it wasn’t one . . . So after he said that was what it was, I googled “centipede” and sure enough, the pictures and descriptions of centipedes on the websites I found matched exactly.
Anyhow, again thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry.
David JR
Atlanta, GA