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Scutigera coleoptrata

Fast, many-legged predator of household pests.

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The house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, has a yellowish-gray body and can possess as many as 15 leg pairs.[1] As an insectivore, it hunts and eats insects and arachnids, and its venom is weak, posing almost no danger to people.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumArthropoda
  3. SubphylumMyriapoda
  4. ClassChilopoda
  5. OrderScutigeromorpha
  6. FamilyScutigeridae
  7. GenusScutigera
  8. SpeciesScutigera coleoptrata

Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Scutigera coleoptrata (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 394580 (CC BY 4.0)

How big is it?

Size comparison: Scutigera coleoptrata and a personA 0.04 m long scutigera coleoptrata drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.04 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.04 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Scutigera coleoptrata

Where the scutigera coleoptrata has been recorded

Where the scutigera coleoptrata has been recorded43 mapped locations from 33,632 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (33,632 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 636 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Quick Facts

Species
coleoptrata

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

The Animal Diversity account states that S. coleoptrata prefers temperate climates and is often found in buildings.[2] The centipede is mostly nocturnal and relies heavily on its antennae, which are sensitive to smells and touch, when hunting.[3] The Animal Diversity account notes that it is carnivorous, eating worms, snails, cockroaches, silverfish, fly larvae, and other arthropods.[2] Young hatch with four pairs of legs and gain new pairs through successive molts until reaching 15 pairs as adults.[4]

Adult specimens usually measure between 25 and 35 mm in body length, but some individuals grow larger.[5] This centipede is capable of moving at 0.4 m/s while traversing floors, walls, and ceilings.[6] Eggs are deposited by house centipedes during spring; data from a lab study involving 24 individuals showed an average egg count of 63.[4]

What the specialist sources record

The Animal Diversity account describes S. coleoptrata as having an exoskeleton made of chitin and sclerotin, and being ectothermic and venomous.[2] It states that the centipede is stimulated by pheromones and sound signals, and spends winter in isolated protected habitats, becoming active in spring.[2] The same source notes that the centipede uses its antennae to sense the environment but makes better use of its eyes than most other centipedes.[2] After eating, S. coleoptrata retreats to a safe place to digest its food.[2]

That fact sheet also states that after a molt the centipede is considered an adolescent and will have 15 legs during each of the next four molts before becoming an adult.[7] The GBIF database lists 34,503 occurrence records for this species as of October 2026.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Scutigera coleoptrata" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Steve Jacobs, "House Centipede", Pennsylvania State University, 2009; Ricks, "Scutigera Coleoptrata", Animal Diversity; Jeffrey K. Barnes, "House centipede", University of Arkansas, May 22, 2003 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Ricks, "Scutigera Coleoptrata", Animal Diversity. facts only, no text reused. animaldiversity.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Scutigera coleoptrata" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lewis (2007), pp. 185–186. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Scutigera coleoptrata" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Walter Ebeling, "Urban Entomology", University of California, 1978, p. 323–353 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Scutigera coleoptrata" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Steve Jacobs, "House Centipedes", Pennsylvania State University, March 13, 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Scutigera coleoptrata" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Steve Jacobs, "House Centipedes", Pennsylvania State University, March 13, 2017; "The House Centipede is Fast, Furious, and Just So Extra | KQED", 25 September 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Steve Jacobs, "House Centipedes", Pennsylvania State University, March 13, 2017. facts only, no text reused. extension.psu.edu
  8. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Scutigera coleoptrata (taxon key 5179027). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Scutigera coleoptrata (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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