Centipedes are found on every continent except for Antarctica and there are thought to be round 8,000 species or more in the world. They have long segmented bodies that typically have a pair of legs in each segment. Nocturnal, centipedes prefer to live in dark, moist places. Here are lots of interesting facts about this creepy-crawly invertebrate:

• They can be anywhere from 0.1 to 11 inches long
• Their segmented body has a flexible shell that can be orange, yellow, red, white, brown or black but most are reddish brown in color.
• Their name means “hundred legs”, but most centipedes have fewer than that; usually 15 to 31 pairs of legs each.
• Some species of centipede have up to 191 pairs of legs; regardless of the species, they always have an odd number of leg pairs.
• They get mixed up with millipedes, but the easiest way to tell is by number of legs per body segment; centipedes only have one pair per segment and millipedes have two pairs.
• The first set of legs are actually fangs and contain venom, poisoning their victims while holding them in place.
• Centipedes can bite humans, but their bites are rarely fatal. Bites typically cause skin damage and blisters.
• They hunt and kill their prey including spiders, insects, mollusks and worms. Larger species eat small birds, bats and frogs.
• Centipedes have claws that partially cover their mouths and help stuff the food in.
• Centipedes are nocturnal and are most active at night.
• They avoid sun and prefer dark, damp places because their bodies aren’t covered with a waxy layer that protects them.
• Snakes, birds, some mammals and frogs eat centipedes.
• They can shed their legs to escape, which will grow back during the next molting season.
• Centipedes mate during spring and summer; the females lay eggs and some species protect the nest and young from predators.
• Female centipedes lay up to 60 eggs in an underground burrow, which take one or two months to hatch.
• Newly hatched young centipedes look exactly like adults in miniature. They grow through a process of shedding their skin, which is known as molting.
• Some species start out life with fewer legs than their parents, but add pairs each time they molt until they are adults.
• Centipedes can live to be two to five years old in the wild and much longer in captivity.
• Evidence of centipedes has been proven back 430 million years.
• Centipedes can be kept as pets and the most common species sold is from the Scolopendra family.
• Pet centipedes can be kept in large terrariums with burrowing material such as soil or coconut fiber. Owners feed their centipedes a diet of crickets, mealworms or cockroaches every week and give them a constant water supply.
• The terrarium environment for pet centipedes must be kept at 70 percent humidity and the temperature in the mid 70’s to 80’s Fahrenheit for typical species. Rainforest species of centipedes require more humidity and a higher temperature. Ventilation should be provided, but care should be taken to make sure the centipede cannot escape.