---
title: "What the sources say about the House Centipede | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "44 claims from the House Centipede profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the House Centipede (*Scutigera coleoptrata*)

> 44 claims from the House Centipede profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [House Centipede](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/house-centipede/)

## House Centipedes. Penn State Extension.

https://extension.psu.edu/house-centipedes

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The night hunter on 15 pairs of legs, with back legs that on adult females are nearly twice as long as its body. | Adult house centipedes have 15 pairs of legs with the last pair (on adult females) nearly twice the length of the body ... come out at night to forage for prey |
| Dark, damp spots in buildings, native to the Mediterranean region | House centipedes are native to the Mediterranean region ... the centipedes inhabit dark, damp locations in the home |
| Silverfish, cockroaches, spiders and other small arthropods | House centipedes feed on silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetle larvae, cockroaches, spiders, and other small arthropods |
| An adult house centipede has 15 pairs of legs. | Adult house centipedes have 15 pairs of legs |
| On adult females, the last pair is nearly twice the length of the body. | the last pair (on adult females) nearly twice the length of the body |
| The body is one to one and a half inches long. | the body, which is one to one and one-half inches in length |
| Add the legs and antennae and the whole animal looks three to four inches long. | overall appearance of being from three to four inches in length (including legs and antennae) |
| The body is a dirty yellow with three dark stripes running along it, and the legs are banded light and dark. | The legs are banded light and dark, and the body is a dirty yellow with three longitudinal, dark stripes. |
| A newly hatched larva has four pairs of legs. | Newly hatched larvae (which are rarely seen) have four pairs of legs. |
| Over the next five molts, when it sheds its hard outer layer, it has 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 pairs. | During the next five larval molts, the centipedes will have 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 pairs of legs (note: 'Sheds its hard outer layer' defines the page's molt for the reader.) |
| After one more molt it counts as an adolescent with 15 pairs, and four more molts later it is an adult. | On the next molt, the centipede is considered an adolescent and will have 15 legs during each of the next four molts, after which it becomes an adult. (note: Source says '15 legs'; the same page's adult count is 15 pairs, so pairs is used.) |
| Females have been known to survive for several years and produce up to 150 young. | Females have been known to survive for several years and produce up to 150 young. |
| By day it hides in dark, damp places. At night it comes out to forage. | During the daytime, the centipedes inhabit dark, damp locations in the home and come out at night to forage for prey. |
| Silverfish, cockroaches and spiders are on its menu. | House centipedes feed on silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetle larvae, cockroaches, spiders |
| House centipedes are native to the Mediterranean region. | House centipedes are native to the Mediterranean region |
| They were accidentally introduced into the southern United States and are now widespread throughout the country and the world. | were accidentally introduced into the southern United States. They were first recorded in Pennsylvania in 1849 and are now widespread throughout the country and the world. |
| Penn State Extension calls them harmless and says they feed on small arthropods, including pest insects. | they are harmless. House centipedes feed on small arthropods, including pest insects |
| In Pennsylvania they do not. | House centipedes do not survive winters outdoors in Pennsylvania |
| Penn State Extension reports that they readily reproduce inside heated buildings instead, and that they were first recorded in the state in 1849. | They were first recorded in Pennsylvania in 1849 ... readily reproduce in heated structures |
| Penn State Extension lists silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetle larvae, cockroaches, spiders and other small arthropods. | House centipedes feed on silverfish, firebrats, carpet beetle larvae, cockroaches, spiders, and other small arthropods |
| 15 pairs of legs | Adult house centipedes have 15 pairs of legs (note: vibe.reason, animal half) |

## Scutigera coleoptrata. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Scutigera_coleoptrata/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List
No special status (note: No Red List assessment found by the prefetch: no assessment DOI, and GBIF holds no category. ADW's IUCN line is 'No special status'.) |
| Rear legs that cross above and outside the legs in front of them, which prevents entanglement | This allows the rear legs to cross the legs in front of them, going above and to the outside, preventing entanglement. |
| The legs get progressively longer toward the rear. | Their legs progressively get longer towards the rear of the body. |
| That allows the back legs to cross the legs in front of them, passing above and to the outside, which prevents entanglement. | This allows the rear legs to cross the legs in front of them, going above and to the outside, preventing entanglement. |
| The house centipede is a very quick runner in comparison with other centipedes. | are very quick runners in comparison with other centipedes |
| It senses prey with its antennae, which carry scent and touch receptors. | It senses its prey using its antennae which have scent and touch receptors on them. |
| It then holds the prey in fangs, which are its modified first pair of legs, while injecting poison. | The first pair of legs is modified into fangs used for capturing prey and as protection. ... House centipedes then use their fangs to hold the prey while injecting poison with the modified front legs. |
| It makes better use of its eyes than most other centipedes. | makes better use of its eyes than most other centipedes |
| Animal Diversity Web lists them across Europe, Asia and North America. | it can be found throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. |
| They are not aggressive, but Animal Diversity Web says they can bite in self-defense. | House centipedes are not aggressive, but can bite people in self-defense. |
| In homes they are more common in basements and bathrooms, probably because those rooms are more humid. | In residences they're more commonly found in basements and bathrooms (probably because of higher humidity there). |
| It can, in self-defense, but it is not aggressive. | House centipedes are not aggressive, but can bite people in self-defense. |
| Its fangs are often too weak to break human skin. | Often their fangs are not strong enough to break the skin. |
| When they do get through, the venom can cause a painful bite, which Animal Diversity Web compares to a honeybee sting. | If they do get through skin, the venom injected can cause a painful bite, comparable to a honeybee sting. |
| Animal Diversity Web notes that the house centipede has a shorter body and longer legs than other centipede species, which stops it tripping over itself as it runs. | They have a shorter body and longer legs than other species, preventing them from tripping over themselves as they run. |
| The rear-most legs are twice as long as the front-most ones. | The rear-most legs are actually twice as long as the front-most legs. |
| Animal Diversity Web adds worms, snails and fly larvae. | is carnivorous, eating worms, snails, cockroaches, silverfish, fly larvae, and other arthropods |
| get longer toward the rear so the back legs cross the ones in front without tangling | Their legs progressively get longer towards the rear of the body. ... This allows the rear legs to cross the legs in front of them, going above and to the outside, preventing entanglement. (note: vibe.reason, animal half) |

## Meyer-Rochow, Müller & Lindström (2006). Spectral sensitivity of the eye of Scutigera coleoptrata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Chilopoda: Scutigeromorpha: Scutigeridae). Applied Entomology and Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1303/aez.2006.117

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Electrical recordings from the eye of Scutigera coleoptrata found two sensitivity peaks, one near 448 nm and a second, lower one in the ultraviolet around 350 nm. | We located two sensitivity peaks: one in the vicinity to light of 448 nm wavelength and a second 0.25–0.5 log unit lower one in the ultraviolet region (UV) of the spectrum around 350 nm |
| The authors called the ultraviolet sensitivity surprisingly well developed. | the surprisingly well-developed UV-sensitivity |
| Each eye contains about 150 ommatidia, which are tiny lens units. | Since the eyes contain about 150 ommatidia (note: Species figure for S. coleoptrata, which the paper takes from Müller et al. 2003; 'tiny lens units' defines ommatidia for the reader.) |
| Among centipedes, millipedes and their relatives, only its group, the Scutigeromorpha, has eyes of closely packed hexagonal facets like those of insects. | Amongst the Myriapoda we find eyes of 100–600 ommatidial units, arranged as closely packed hexagonal facets, resembling typical insect and crustacean ommatidia, only in the Scutigeromorpha (note: 'Centipedes, millipedes and their relatives' defines Myriapoda for the reader. The 100 to 600 range is group scope and is not stated for this species.) |

## Sombke, Harzsch & Hansson (2011). Organization of deutocerebral neuropils and olfactory behavior in the centipede Scutigera coleoptrata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Myriapoda: Chilopoda). Chemical Senses.

https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjq096

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Behavioral experiments indicate it can perceive airborne stimuli from live prey. | behavioral experiments indicate that S. coleoptrata is able to perceive airborne stimuli, both from live prey and from a chemical extract of the prey |