Bush Centipedes SCOLOPENDROMORPHA,   CHILOPODA

Don Herbison-Evans (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley

(Photo: courtesy of Katrina Coppock, Adelaide, South Australia)

These are not Caterpillars, but are in a special order of Arthropods (Insects, Spiders, etc.) called SCOLOPENDROMORPHA. They are usually a rusty brown. Typically they have a pair of antennae at the front, and 21 pairs of legs, including last three pairs which are usually thicker. The body can have a length from 5 to 10 cms.

Bush Centipedes are nocturnal and carnivorous, and hunting at night for other Arthropods, such as spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, and ants. These they sting and kill before eating. They can give a painful bite to humans. When they do, some people also have an allergic reaction to the sting.

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(written 19 August 2016)