Revenge of the House Centipedes

It is actually very funny that some people who encountered a house centipede and killed them have develop a sense of fear that the insect's companions will seek revenge for their fallen comrade. So the question is, "Do house centipede really knows how to seek revenge?".

Before we answer that question, let me share you some interesting experiences of different individuals regarding about this subject.

1. A Mother who Protected her Baby

A certain mother's house was crawling with centipedes. Until, there was one time that a 2 inches long house centipede came close enough to her baby. Being too protective that the insect will harm her baby, she immediately nailed the crawling insect down on the floor.

After taking the life of the many legged-creature, the mother had develop a sense of fear that the family or relatives of the centipede that she killed might come back to seek for revenge.

2. A Guy who Smashed a Centipede

There was a guy who was about to fall asleep. When he was about to close his eyes, a house centipede had suddenly crawled on the ceiling of his bedroom. He thought that the centipede was planning on jumping over his face to he immediately woke up and smashed the centipede with his own fist.

From that time on-wards, he keeps on seeing more centipedes gathering around his room with the feeling of fear that they seem to be waiting for the perfect opportunity to take revenge from their fallen comrade.

3. A Person who Killed Several Centipedes

A certain person had moved into an old apartment where he wasn't expecting it to be infested with house centipedes. Since the only possible option he had was to smash the insects, he was able to take down several of them. Yet, the centipedes seems to have an endless number. In short, they keep on coming back running around the corners, walls and ceiling.

According to this person, one of the centipede had bitten his right hand during the first night of his sleep on his newly rented apartment. He thought that the insects were taking their revenge so early in the morning, he packed all of his things and left.

Now to answer the question above, house centipedes are not intelligent creatures. They don't have the feeling or emotion that can anger them to seek revenge against those who killed one of their kind. Even a mother centipede who aggressively protect its offspring or eggs won't bother seeking for revenge if it happens that you killed its offspring or destroyed its eggs.

Overall, house centipedes taking their revenge is just an over exaggeration of a certain individual's own interpretation with his or her surroundings.

Physical Anatomy of Centipedes

Believe it or not, centipedes are not just composed of body segments, multiple legs and forcipules which are clearly visible on their physical appearance. Centipedes may seem like simple creatures but they are not. They actually have an interesting and complex "anatomy".

Similar to the arthropods, centipedes do not have an internal skeleton which explains why they feel "squishy" when held by hand. Instead of an internal skeleton, they have a "cuticle exoskeleton" which usually protects their vulnerable organs and soft bodies.

Their exoskeleton has something called "chitin" which can be found in the shells of the sea creatures such as crab shell. In addition, centipedes have multiple cuticle layers. The first layer is the skin (in scientific term, it's called "epidermis"). But unlike other arthropods, centipedes do not have a waxy outer cuticle.

Since the body of a centipede lacks a waxy cuticle, it is common for them to die from dehydration. It is due to this reason why they joyfully inhabit hot climates. They actually reside under rocks, in soil and near the water as it allows them to conserve water and prevents them from dehydration.

Going back into the exoskeleton of a centipede, scientists had discovered it as "non-living" which means, it does not grow. Thus, when the centipede grow, its exoskeleton stays the same exact size from the time that the creature was hatched. As a result, the exoskeleton can get extremely tight that the centipedes may need to shed their exoskeleton to grow a new one. In fact, this process is referred by researchers as "molting".

The other parts of the centipede body include a long antennae (most species has an average length of 1 to 2 inches long) and many pairs of legs. Depending on the type of centipede specie, they can have anywhere between 15 pairs of legs to a whopping 141 pairs of legs. Additionally, centipedes possess a head and a pseudo-head (which is a sort of defense mechanism).

It is known that all species of centipedes choose to prey on insects. Their strategic hunting style is to surprise attack their prey using their forcipules attached into their real head. If they managed to successfully embed their jaws and delivered some amount of venom, this causes an immediate effect which paralyze their prey.

Centipedes actually have multi-jointed antennae and jaws that are connected into their forcipules which are filled with poison. And above all, their jaw is located behind their head which they use to kill their prey.

Anamorphy and Epimorphy of Centipedes Legs

Everybody know that it is common to all kinds of centipedes that they have dozen pairs of legs. One interesting fact about their legs is that, most of them actually grow their legs at different rates. These rates has been classified by the scientists as "Anamorphic" and "Epimorphic".

The growth rate of centipedes depends on several factors which include their class, age and status of their evolution. But in general, any centipedes that almost complete the number of their legs during their molting period is categorized as anamorphic. As for those who almost complete their legs before they go through their molting period is categorized as epimosphic. Newly hatched centipedes start off with only a dozen pair of legs or less. Usually they have no more than 4 or 10 legs and no more than 12 or 15 legs.

Anamorphy

There are two common species of centipedes that undergoes anamorphic growth rate of their legs. They are the Scutigera Coleoptrata (commonly known as the "American House Centipede") and Craterostigmomorpha. On their early stage of being hatched, they have 4 to 6 legs. And once they go through their first molt, they grow another four legs.

When they reached an age of 6 months to 1 year-old, they have completed all of their legs. Female centipedes with up to 15 legs are considered as sexually mature adult which they are ready to produce their own young.

Epimorphy

Just like anamorphy, epimorphy is also commonly observed from two species which are the Geophilomorpha and Scolopendromorpha. Surprisingly, these two kinds of centipedes already have their complete set of legs when they are embryos. They got up to 12 or more legs and once born, they have their complete legs.

Females actually have some slight differences to the males. It's because female centipedes usually have more number of legs than the males. To be more specific, the females can have over 15 total number of legs while the males can only have between 8 to 12 legs.

Overall, despite of the simple appearance of centipedes, the anatomy of their body are composed of interesting parts which are a lot more than meets the eye.

Do House Centipedes Bite a Sleeping Person?

If it happens that your house is hardly infested with house centipedes, you might have already experienced where these insects disturbed your comfortable-sleep several times. There may also be some cases that they crawled under your shirt and even onto your face. Worst, they bit you where you woke up crying in pain.

So the question is, "Do house centipedes really intentionally bite a sleeping person?".

House centipedes are low-intelligent life-forms. This means that they don't have the capability to think like us. They are simply acting according to their natural behavior which is to keep hunting for their food. So in the first place, they really don't intend to harm humans. Although, they may fight back when feel threatened.

When a house centipede crawl onto your body, you will be perfectly fine as long as you remain stable on your sleeping position. However, it is impossible for anyone not to move or change sleeping positions from time-to-time. So if it happens that a centipede crawled under your shirt and you moved at a position where you squeezed the insect, you will surely get bitten.

Anyway, there are still some possible ways on how to prevent house centipedes from crawling onto your body while you are asleep. Here are some of the following effective tips that might work:

1. Turn the Lights ON

Centipedes are afraid of bright environment. So if you sleep with the lights turned ON, they won't even dare to come close near you. Although, your electric bill will add up.

2. Shake Everything before you Sleep

Shake everything on your bed which include your pillow, bed sheet and bedding. This is to get rid of the any possible centipedes hiding underneath them.

3. Pray for your Safety

If you have a certain religion that you believe then include in your prayers about your safety against centipede bites throughout the whole night.

House Centipede Inside the Mouth of a Sleeping Individual

Is it really possible that a house centipede may choose to get inside the mouth of a certain sleeping individual?

There was a guy who claimed to have a habit of unconsciously opening his mouth when fallen asleep. And since his room was fully infested with house centipedes, he was always worried that a centipede might crawl inside and worse, the insect could bite either his tongue or gums.

The probability that a house centipede will crawl inside a sleeping individual's mouth is very low. But, it could still happen. Thus, it's always best to find a solution because it's better to be safe than sorry.

If it happens that you are suffering from this kind of condition, some medical experts claim that you can use a handkerchief and tie it from your jaw around your head. First, roll your handkerchief then place the middle portion of it below your jaw then wrap the two ends around your head. Second, tie both ends on the top of your head. Although, this method is not recommended for those who have trouble breathing in their nose (particularly those who are suffering from sinus problems).

The best method though is actually, to get rid of the house centipedes. It's because once you completely got rid of them, you can safely sleep at any comfortable position.

Small Insects Can Crawl Inside your Ears

One of the most uncomfortable thing that could happen while you are sleeping inside a room infested with house centipedes is that, one of these creatures can crawl and enter one of your ears. The feeling of having an insect inside your ear can be a bit painful especially when the insect keeps on struggling to find its way out.

A fully matured house centipede usually have an average size that ranges from half-inch to 3 inches long. With such sizes, they won't be able to fit inside your ear. But, what you really need to worry about are the young centipedes because they are smaller in sizes that can perfectly fit inside your ears.

Why would a house centipede crawl inside your ear?

House centipedes are present around your house because of the other insects that they prey and eat for their survival. In relation to crawling inside your ear, there's a pretty low chances that they do it intentionally. Unless there's already an insect living inside your ear (that you are unaware about) which attracted the house centipede.

On some cases, accidents happens. Assuming that you are sleeping in your room that is infested with house centipedes. They are all over the place crawling around hunting for other insects. One of them came crawling on your bed towards your head. Then suddenly, your mom entered your room or a flash of lightning unexpectedly occurred. As a result, the creature will be shocked or surprised where it has to find the nearest possible place to hid itself. Considering that the insect is near your head, there are chances that it will choose to enter inside your ear.

Is it possible that when a house centipede entered your ear, it can also penetrate its way through the brain?

Many individuals have the wrong idea that when a certain insect crawled inside their ears, the creature can find its way through the brain (just like in the funny cartoon shows). The fact is that, it is not possible because your ear-drum blocks the path that connects your ear from your brain.

How to Remove a House Centipede Out from your Ear

If it happens that a house centipede or any other small type of insects had crawled and entered a certain individual's ear, it is important that he needs to seek immediately help from the a professional doctor.

Anyway, here is a method that should only be performed when a doctor is not available:

1. Calm down the patient

It is important that the patient needs to be calm because panicking or freaking out can cause the insect to struggle even more. You should also advise the patient not to talk or move his jaw because this can cause the insect to dig its way deeper.

2. Lie the patient flat on his bed

Assists that patient into his bed and help him lay down flat with his infested ear facing up. Take note, this has to be done carefully slow and calm.

3. Clean towels

You need a clean towel to protect the patient's clothing from getting stained it's because you will be applying natural oils (such as baby oil, mineral oil, vegetable oil and olive oil).

4. Killing the insect

The use of any oils mentioned above can actually kill the insect. If you do not have any of those oils, you can simply use clean water with equal mixture of alcohol or peroxide.

What you have to do is to slowly fill a few drops into the ear of the patient. Take note, the oil or water won't take effect right away. It may take a few minutes to an hour that only the patient can confirm if the insect is dead. If he no longer feel the insect moving then it is probably dead.

5. Flushing the ear

"Flushing" means, you are going to fill the ear of the patient with tepid water. It is important that you have to do it in a way that the water will slowly overflow. An easy to do it appropriately is to use a syringe (without the needle) or a container with a directional spout.

6. Inspect the insect

Once you have successfully flushed the insect out from the patient's ear, you have to inspect the creature. If it has any missing body parts then a medical attention is further advised to the patient. Either way, the patient is still advised to have a follow-up checkup regardless of the outcome of the flushing process. This is to ensure that no damage from the ear was done.

Is it possible to use tweezers to get rid of the insect?

It is quite impossible to remove an insect especially a house centipede that got stuck inside a certain person's ear by using any kind of tweezers, bobby-pin or any other manual ear-cleaning tools. The use of these tools can worsen the condition of the patient where the insect will most likely embed itself deeper into the ear canal. As a result, the insect can damage the ear-drum of the patient.

Centipedes and their Habitats

Centipedes can actually be found all over the world consisting of different species. Each species are interestingly unique with one another where they can inhabit different types of environments (like the tropics and moist forests). Most species of centipedes have the capability to thrive on hot or warm weather conditions but as long as there's a source of water nearby. One interesting fact about centipedes is that, their bodies can absorb water which keeps them hydrated for long period of time. In short, Any place with a warm climate and moist places can actually become a perfect habitat for the centipedes to live.

Some common places with a large number of different species of centipedes are known in the regions of North America, South America, New Zealand and United Kingdom.

According to most scientific studies about centipedes, these creatures are more known to take shelters under decaying woods, near rock formations, loose type of soil, base boards and in the gardens. It's because these areas allows them to stay warm and at the same time, prevents their bodies from drying up. In addition, living in tight objects can protect them from other more fearsome predators.

Did you know that several centipedes can live or hide fitting themselves in a small decaying log?

A female centipedes can actually have up to fifty or more eggs. Surprisingly, parental centipedes together with their eggs can live in a small log along with the other centipedes without needing a larger room for breeding.

Despite the fact that centipedes can inhabit various places of the world, there are actually two regions where they won't be able to survive. They are the Arctic and Antarctic regions. These two places can freeze the centipedes to their deaths. Since the areas are nothing but cold and ice, they won't surely last longer than a few hours. Furthermore, there has been no record of any centipede findings in the Arctic or Antarctic so long as they have been here on Earth.

Some Common Centipedes and their Habitats

Scutigeromorpha

The most common and popular specie of centipedes is the "Scutigeromorpha" or "House Centipedes". They are very fast creatures who can endure high-falls even at a rate of very fast speed.

House centipedes have multi-segmented antennae, compound eyes and they have adapted the characteristic of burrowing themselves around their habitat. Their average body-length ranges from 2.5 to 3 centimeters only. As for the color of their body, some people describe them as grayish-yellow, brownish-yellow, dark-orange or yellowish-gold.

Scutigeromorpha are commonly found hidden inside homes. Thus, they are considered as pests. According to some statistical survey, Southern Africa and Madagascar has the highest number of house centipede infestation.

Lithobiomorpha

"Lithobiomorpha" is also known as "Stone Centipedes" and they are very similar to the scutigeromorpha specie. But their main difference is that, lithobiomorpha had lost their compound eyes which according to the scientific discovery, they lost it due to the process of evolution that took place through time. Instead of an eye, they have a group of ocelli. Another difference is that they have shorter legs and antennae.

Stone centipedes are commonly found inhabiting various regions of New Zealand.

Craterostigmomorpha

The least diverse centipede group is the "Craterostigmomorpha" which inhabits both regions of Tasmania and New Zealand. Centipedes in this group are generally greenish-brown in color with a large red-brown head supporting the creature's massive forcipules. Despite of its existence, many scientists still have very little information about their biology. Although, it is estimated that this specie had originated for about 375 million years ago.

Scolopendromorpha

The "Scolopendromorpha" specie is also known as the "Tropical Centipedes" and they are considered as the world's largest centipede. These creatures possess between 21 to 43 body segments with a total body-length that measures an average of over 16 centimeters in length. As for their antennae, it usually consists of 17 segments.

Although, there are some slight differences of other scolopendromorpha specie to their native counterparts that inhabits on the same regions of New Zealand. Some Tropical Centipedes do not exceed 5 centimeters. And unique to them is that, they always have 21 pairs of legs and are either blind or have ocelli.

Geophilomorpha

"Geophilomorpha" is also known as "Soil Centipedes". You may be surprised to know that they are "eyeless" and blind creatures. Due to their blindness, they are like earthworms that have adapted themselves living beneath the ground.

Their long and thin bodies possess numerous short legs ranging from 31 to 181 pairs. As for their body-length, they can grow from 1 to 25 centimeters long. Their common type of colors can be reddish-brown or pale yellow.

Soil centipedes can be found inhabiting any areas of the world that offers them a thriving place such as the gardens, yards, woodlands and agricultural land farms.

Moreover, there are over 3,000 identified species of centipedes across the world with varying habitats. Not to mention those that are still unidentified and undiscovered species. Who knows that there can be a newly evolved specie that can survive at any kind of environment.

Wild or Giant Centipedes versus Other Predators

Wild or Giant Centipedes proves to be at the "top of the food-chain" (specifically in the world of the insect) because they can actually prey on any kind of insects that they can come across around. To confirm their supremacy among other predatory insects, I have conducted further researches and found several interesting results at YouTube.

Here are the following results of my research which confirms that centipedes are the kings and queens of the insects:

Giant Centipede versus Giant Tarantula

If a giant centipede goes against a giant tarantula, who do you think is going to win?

First, let's discuss both qualities of the two predators regarding on how they attack and defend themselves. Through their attacks and defensive mechanisms, we can derive our speculation on who will gain the glory of supremacy against one another.

The Giant Centipede

Giant Centipede Attacking Mechanism

Common to all kinds or species of centipedes are their fearsome "poison claws". Scientists identified them as "toxicognaths" (which is like a pincer) located at the adjacent part of their head.

As compared to other venomous insects that stings, centipedes does not inject their poison but they do deliver it right into their victims through their bites. When a centipede is going to attack its prey, it will grab its target followed by a quick bite and at the same time releases its toxic venom. The poison will immediately take effect paralyzing the victim making it unable to move.

Giant Centipede Defensive Mechanism

No matter how fierce the centipedes as predators, they can also end up as prey against other more superior creatures in the forest. In order to defend themselves, centipedes has the ability to "camouflage" (conceal or hid themselves). But their most interesting defensive mechanism is that, if a tougher predator managed to grasp a centipede's leg, the centipede can actually drop or release its leg off from its body to flee itself.

The Giant Tarantula

A giant tarantula is a spider-specie that is feared by many individuals especially in the US. The size of this spider alone is very frightening and the threat of their bite to humans is also similar to the centipedes. Tarantulas also possess "neurotoxic venoms". According to some scientific studies, a tarantula's venom isn't good enough to kill humans or animals. In fact, there weren't any recorded incidents or verified cases of human death concerning about a tarantula bite.

Giant Tarantula Attacking Mechanism

A tarantula's main offensive weapon is its pair of fangs. The fangs posses muscular base that is attached from the head. It can be described as a "backward-pointing" fang in which the venom comes out (secreted from the glands inside the basal part).

When a giant tarantula attacks its prey, it will aggressively drive its fangs right into the body of its victim. At the same time, the venom is injected causing its prey to be completely paralyzed.

Giant Tarantula Defensive Mechanism

According to some scientific research, the hairs of a giant tarantula spider can penetrate through the soft skin tissues of your skin. This can result into "urtication" or "irritation".

Who do you think will win the match between a giant centipede against a giant tarantula?

Before you derive on your own conclusion, you may first want to watch this short video of an actual battle of the two competitors above.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf8pAwGsuF4

Based from the video, the giant centipede easily preyed on the unsuspecting giant tarantula. The spider got bitten from behind (or ambushed) making it unable to fight back and defend itself. If it happens that the tarantula managed to avoid the centipede's sneaky attack, do you think that the spider have the chance of beating the centipede?

The answer is "No". If the tarantula will simply run away then it will have better chances of surviving but if not, the giant centipede can still take the spider down. It's because the giant centipede has tougher armor and equipped with more legs that can easily out-power the pitiful tarantula.

Giant Centipede versus Giant Hornet/Wasp

When a giant centipede will aggressively attack its prey, you will be surprised by its fast and very speedy crawling prowess. When you see one coming or charging towards you, you can actually outrun it provided that you are a good runner. But, not for the case of a flying giant hornet.

Giant hornets actually belong to the "Wasp" family. They are flying insects with large, fat rounded bodies and they do emit a noisier sound as compared to their ordinary species. The most fearsome about them is their powerful sting filled with high-volume of venom that they use as defensive mechanism.

Despite of the hornet's fearsome appearance and annoying vibrating sound, they are not aggressive to anyone. To tell you something interesting, there were already several stunts performed by different individuals allowing themselves to be crawled by a large number of hornets all over their bodies. As a result, no harm was done to them by this kind of friendly wasps.

Is the hornet venom dangerous to human?

Unfortunately, there were a few records of individuals who died from wasps sting. Most of these individuals were those with allergic-reaction to the flying insect's venom. Hornet's sting can be really painful where the damage or harm that it can bring to their human victim is comparable to the Yellow Jacket or Bee.

As mentioned above, hornets are not aggressive type of insects but they won't hesitate to attack anyone who are blocking their flight-path or moving rapidly towards their nests.

Common to all wasps, a hornet's stinging apparatus consists of a "sac" which contains the venom. Along with the sac is a sharp injection-tube which they use to penetrate their victim's flesh before extracting the venom in.

According to some scientists, a hornet's venom sac contains around 50 mg of venom. And when they do sting their prey, they usually inject about 10/15 mg of their venom which means that they can sting up to 3 to 5 five times before their sac of venom is emptied. Once their sac got completely depleted, it may take some time before it gets to be filled up again.

Here is an interesting video that I found about a giant centipede preying on a giant hornet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZZE_Trw5zE

Based on my observation, the battle between the giant centipede against the giant hornet was a "slaughter". If you are going to take a close look, you will realize that the two contenders were enclosed inside a glass-cage. With such battleground, the giant centipede surely does have the upper hand.

Hornets actually rely on their flying capability to hunt down their prey (usually by surprise). But with an enclosed environment, the hornet cannot barely fly around until it got tired and was caught by the giant centipede.

Giant Centipede versus Giant Scorpion

Scorpions are just like crabs where they posses two-large pincers which they use to grab and wrestle their prey. They also have eight pairs of legs which allow them to move quick enough to catch their food. However, the most dangerous part of a scorpion's attacking mechanism are their tails.

A scorpion's tail actually consists of several segments with an average length that ranges from 9 to 21 cm. At the end or tip of their tail is called the "stinger" or "telson". This stinger or telson is a very sharp needle in which they use to sting into their prey and at the same time, apply their venomous toxins.

Are scorpions dangerous to humans?

There is actually a very large number of scorpions belonging to different species. But, most of their species are harmless to both humans and animals. According to some researchers, they had an estimate of about 2000 species of scorpions that currently exists on this period of our time. In addition, there are only 25 to 40 unique species that has the capability to inject potent venom to kill their human or animal victims.

Here's a video owned by "Monster Bug Wars" where they had featured a fierce battle of survival between a giant centipede and a giant scorpion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE-LMPHR_TY

As shown on the video, the giant centipede was the aggressor. It keeps on attacking the scorpion that was simply waiting and trying to defend itself. At first, the giant centipede was having a hard time on its attempt to grab the giant scorpion. This was because of the scorpion's large and strong pincers that prevents the many-legged creature from getting close to it.

After several engagements, the centipede was finally able to grab the tail of the scorpion. It then bit off the scorpion's tail to disable it from delivering or injecting its poison.

With the scorpion's tail disabled, all it can do now was to rely on its pair of pincers. Unfortunately, the giant centipede has a bigger size body with more number of legs which makes it impossible for the scorpion to out-wrestle it. As a result, the scorpion was defeated.

Centipede versus Grasshopper Mouse

Normally, centipedes only prey on small sized insects such as bugs, spiders and cockroaches. Interestingly, giant centipedes can also hunt larger-sized prey such as the "Grasshopper Mouse".

National Geographic Channel have a wonderful discovery about the outcome of a giant centipede battling a grasshopper mouse. You can watch the video on the link provided below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOsmeOceOsg

As shown on the video, the giant centipede had aggressively invaded the mouse's nest without fear. Those new born babies of the mother grasshopper mouse can easily be devoured by the giant centipede.

An interesting fact about a grasshopper mouse (especially females or mothers) is that, they won't back out from any challenge that involves threat to their offspring. And the most interesting fact is that, the females are the main combatants while the male goes to hide.

Going back into the video, the mother mouse went to confront the giant centipede. Their battle involves lightning-reflexes that when one of them receives a "vital hit", surely the creature that got hit will be the end of it. Fortunately, the grasshopper mouse was able to pin and disable the giant centipede saving its young from the unwary predator.

Snake versus Giant Centipede

Snake do belong into the "reptilian" world of creatures (while centipedes into the world of insects), but do you know that some giant centipede can go over-board by also attacking snakes as their prey?

The majority of individuals claim that there is no way for a snake to fall as prey by any giant centipedes. It's because any snake can easily crush the centipede with their constricting-body (or inject their poisonous venom with their fangs). However, this was not the case from an interesting encounter between a giant centipede and snake in the plantation area in Penang, Malaysia.

Here's the video that went viral around the web which was about a giant centipede feeding on its snake prey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooFSFR2s7Ig

As shown on the video, you can see that the giant centipede had genuinely grabbed the lower-half portion of the snake's body. The snake seem to panicked probably it doesn't know what to do. Suddenly, the snake rolled and twisted around showing some kind of painful struggle. At this point, the giant centipede had actually embedded its fangs deep into the snake's flesh.

After a few more minutes, the centipede's venom finally took effect where the snake can no longer move.

Giant Centipede versus a Young Viper Snake

In the Island of Macedonia, Golem Grad which is also known as "Snake Island", a group of scientists were surprised on what they had found on their exploration around the island. They had surprising encountered a young dead viper snake with a head and nose of a giant centipede sticking out from its stomach.

The scientists took both of the creatures in an attempt to solve the mystery. To find out the answer, they had dissected the snake's body to take the centipede out.

According to the scientists' speculations, both creatures had a duel and at some point, the viper managed to devour the centipede as a whole but still remained alive. Since the giant centipede was still alive, it chewed and ate the inside tissues of the snake. This was due to the findings of the scientists that the internal organs of the snake got dissolved and what only remains were the snake's stomach-wall. As a result, the snake died while the giant centipede died from suffocation or got poisoned by the snake's deadly venom.

The young snake viper measures exactly 20 centipedes in length while the giant centipede was about 16 centimeters. Thus, their difference in length is only 4 centimeters.

Overall, wild or giant centipedes have proven that they are indeed at the top of the food-chain specifically in the world of small creatures.

Where Do House Centipedes Go During Winter?

If your house or surrounding environment has been infested by centipedes, you might have already experienced noticing them missing during the cold winter season.

Where did they go?

The answer into this question is all about their habitat. You have to know that centipedes can only propagate on places that offers warmth, moist and damp areas. This means that they cannot live on dry places or on extremely cold environments. If they insists of going out hunting for their food during winter, they will eventually won't survive long enough.

Speaking about survival, what do they exactly do during winder in order to survive this type of extreme condition of the weather?

Centipedes Do Hibernate During Winter

Centipedes actually do hibernate throughout the winter season for their survival.

What is hibernation?

For a centipede to go under hibernation, it needs to find a perfect suitable place to stay for the whole winter. In addition to this, it also needs to conserve most of its energy and store sufficient food to eat. Although, centipedes won't actually be eating a lot because of the effect of the cold temperature which slow down the rate of their metabolism. Thus, they won't be eating much food as compared to their normal appetite.

The winter season in the United States actually starts in the month of December until the month of March. That's 4 months of hibernation period for the centipedes staying inside their lair unbothered.

But, how come that there are still house centipedes running around inside your house even during the winter season?

House centipedes are one of the few species that can thrive on habitat that offers them warmth and food. This is the reason why house centipedes can still be observed even during winter but only inside homes or shelters. If you are suffering from a house centipede infestation then you may want to consider reading this topic:

Tips On How to Get Rid of House Centipedes

Once the winter is finally over, expect that centipedes will be all over various places to hunt for their food because they are surely hungry and exhausted.

How about the millipedes?

Some individuals has the wrong notion that centipedes and millipedes are the same type of creature. Well, they are not.

In terms of hibernation, millipedes also do hibernate during the winter season. I have been researching on various communities regarding about this subject where there are many pet owners who were able to closely observed how they hibernate. There was even one pet owner who claimed that he left his "African Millipede" pet outside on a branch of a tree. It was there for the whole period of the winter season.

When winter was finally over, the pet owner of the millipede went to check on it. At first, he thought that his pet was dead because it wasn't moving at all. But after further inspecting the creature, it surprisingly moved giving him a sign of life that it was pretty much alive.

Perhaps, the main difference between a centipede from a millipede when it comes to their hibernation is that, millipedes can simply hibernate at any places whereas centipedes needs to look for the perfect and suitable place to settle down.

Overall, centipedes that lives in the wild goes to hibernation during winter. But for the house centipedes, they won't be going nowhere provided that they have a warm environment and food to eat inside the house or shelter.

Ten Interesting Facts About Centipedes

Centipedes are often feared by many due to their creepy appearance and aggressiveness to anyone. They actually bite injecting their powerful venom that delivers tremendous pain no matter how tough you think you are.

Despite of the fearsome characteristics of the centipedes, scientific discovery had found 10 interesting facts about them and they are the following:

1. Centipede Venom

Centipedes are venomous and predatory creatures which paralyze their prey using their poison found in their venomous fangs located into their "forcipules". Unique to all kinds of centipedes, forcipules are their front leg segments which are surprisingly not made for walking but the most interesting part about it is that, it can be modified into deadly fangs.

When a wild centipede has bitten a certain individual, he or she will suffer an agonizing pain that could last for an hour. The bitten area will be swollen that it may take several days to get healed.

2. Number of Legs

Depending on the species, the number of legs of a centipede ranges from as few as 15 pairs of legs to as much as 171 pairs. Average centipedes actually have 35 pairs of legs that are highly segmented and there are only one pair of walking legs per segment.

Despite of the popular belief and the given name to the centipedes as "hundred legged" creatures, they do not actually have 100 legs. In fact, they always have an odd number of leg pairs.

3. Distinguishing Centipedes

The single pair of legs per segment can be useful in distinguishing centipedes from other similar creatures especially the "millipedes". Many individuals are actually confused between centipedes and millipedes. Thus, the best way to distinguish them apart is by analyzing their leg segments where millipedes have two pairs of legs per segments (while single pair of legs per segments for the centipedes).

4. Centipedes are Predators

Judging from their common habitat, centipedes are often mistaken to have the same diet as the worms. However, all centipedes are predators that catch their food similarly to the method of the snakes. A centipede do it by wrapping their body around their prey until its venom takes effect.

Centipedes commonly hunt insects, mollusks and annelids. While, larger species of centipedes have been found to be able to prey on frogs and small birds. Surprisingly, centipedes are also known to prey on other centipedes when food becomes scarce.

5. Lifespan of Centipedes

Centipedes falls into the insect and arthropod category where they do have various characteristics which vary from the commonality within the group. As for their lifespan, most species of centipedes reaches 2 to 3 years which is relatively a longer period as compared to most arthropods which can live up to weeks on average.

The centipedes' lifecycle is different from most insects because they continue to molt and grow even as adults. But in comparison to other common insects, they stop molting and growing once they reached adulthood.

6. Ability to Regenerate Legs

The most predominate trait which centipedes possess is their ability to regenerate their legs when cut. They can actually sacrifice their legs when attacked by a more fearsome predator.

Due to the reason that centipedes continue to molt even when they reached adulthood, they are able to re-grow their lost legs. However, the regenerated legs are not as strong as the originals. It is also important to note that adult centipedes are not able to re-grow their legs when they finally reached their final stage of development.

7. Centipedes Care for their Offspring

A rare trait of insects is to care for their offspring which is a characteristic trait possessed by the centipedes. Even before their eggs have hatched, the female centipede will wrap her body around the eggs to keep them warm and protected until they hatch.

The location of the eggs is also vital in their protection. Thus, the female centipede (species that dwells on soil and tropical regions) strategically lay their mass eggs underground to keep them away from the predators.

8. Ability to Run at High Speed

As a result of their many or several long legs, centipede are built to run quick at a very surprising speed. But with the exception of the soil centipedes, which are naturally slow-moving specie. Although, the rest of the other species of centipedes can easily and quickly maneuver around obstacles allowing them to avoid predators and catch their prey with ease. The surface of the centipede's body segments also prevents them from swaying enabling balance during fast motion.

9. Centipedes with Few Legs

The majority of centipede species hatch with their full set of legs but there are some species that are born with fewer legs than their parents. Anyway, they grow new legs with each successive cycle of their molting stage.

Stone centipedes and house centipedes are amongst the species that hatch with a few number of legs. They usually have about 14 legs which adds up as they continue to develop leg pairs until they reached their adulthood.

10. Waxy Coat

Most arthropods have a waxy coat on their cuticle to help prevent them from "Water Loss". You have to know that centipedes lack the protection against dry environments and are prone to dehydration. Generally, the absence of the waxy coat is not a threat as most centipedes live in moist environments such as damp wood. But, there are some species of centipedes that prefers to inhabit on dry environments. Surprisingly, they have the capability to make the necessary adjustments or modification of their lifestyle to prevent them from suffering dehydration. They do it by conserving their energy until rain occurs.

Above all the interesting facts that are mentioned above, centipedes are the top predator in the world of the insect. They actually dominate all other insects that are small or larger than them. In short, they are the kings or queens of the insect-world. But, did you know that they play an important role in the ecosystem?

Centipedes controls the balance in the ecosystem without them an uncontrollable population of other insects will suddenly emerge.