Giant scolopendra - how poisonous millipedes live and eat

One of the most dangerous and repulsive animals on Earth is a giant scolopendra. She is extremely fast, secretive and aggressive. The predator attacks not only insects, rodents, birds and lizards become its prey. Skolopendra agility is evidenced by cases when they climbed the cave ceiling to catch a bat. Holding the prey with the forelimbs, the animal clung to the surface with just a few hind legs.

Appearance and habitat

The Latin name for the representative of the leg-footed centipedes is Scolopendra gigantean. They live in South America, on the islands of Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad. The places where scolopendras live are tropical and subtropical moist forests. The body of the carnivore consists of 21-23 segments, each with a pair of legs. The average length of the giant is 30-35 cm, but cases of the capture of an arthropod 45 cm long are known.

Millipedes have a lifespan of 3-7 years. When they grow, they molt several times, dropping the chitin exoskeleton. Before molting, the scolopendra does not hunt for several days. The shell cracks, starting from the head, and the centipede creeps out of it, becoming 1.5 cm longer.

Interesting fact. Mavericks by nature, scolopendras in nature rarely conflict with each other. If the males bite each other in fights, then in half the cases this leads to death. In captivity, adult offspring from hunger are young offspring, cannibalism is not observed at large.

A giant scolopendra captures the prey by the front pair of limbs, transformed into the maxilla with claws and poisonous glands. The hind legs are longer, they repel the animal when moving. Each limb 25 mm, at the end of a sharp claw. Their eyesight is poor, so the scolopendras do not think long before the attack, preferring to immobilize everything suspicious with poison.
Scolopendra looks like all millipedes - a segmented body with many moving limbs. On a flat head, a pair of jointed antennae is noticeable. At their base are simple eyes. Its coloring is all kinds of bright colors, their shades and combinations. There are black, red, orange, blue, yellow and purple millipedes. Due to their unusual appearance, they are a welcome acquisition for collectors. Many people keep scolopendra in the terrarium.

Lifestyle

How does scolopendra attack

Animals go hunting at night, preferring to wait out the heat of the day in the shelter. What does scolopendra eat? She is a predator, so in her diet only caught prey. Invertebrates and small animals cannot be saved from a swift throw and paralyzing poison. Young individuals feed on insects, adults attack all who do not exceed the size of the scolopendra itself. It can be a small snake, a bird or a lizard.

Attention. The poison of a giant tropical scolopendra is dangerous for humans. It causes numbness and temporary paralysis. By pain, it is equivalent to a bite of 20 bees.

The millipede eats the victim for several hours, biting off pieces from lively but paralyzed prey. Its primitive digestive system, therefore, it takes a long time to saturate. After the meal, the animal is washed, passing through the jaw alternately antennae and legs.

Breeding

The breeding season falls at the end of spring - the beginning of summer. The male leaves a spermatophore - a bag with a seed, and the female creeps through it, picking up sperm. To lay eggs, the female digs a mink. This unpleasant animal is a caring mother. She guards the eggs and the babies that appear, clasping them with their feet. In one clutch there are up to 100 millipedes. Mother violently attacks everyone who approaches the shelter. She not only protects the eggs, but also cleans them so that they do not mold. Small scolopendras are white, their bodies are soft.

The family does not stay together for long, the scolopendra soon creeps away. Offspring are growing rapidly, experiencing several molts. The millipedes' body darkens, but the color will change until they reach maturity. Cases when larger individuals eat smaller ones are common.

Varieties of Scolopendras

Among the many families of leg-footed millipedes, tropical scolopendras are distinguished by a variety of species, large sizes and special danger. They are capable of causing significant harm not only to animals, but also to humans. European species are much smaller in size, their length does not exceed 8-14 cm.

• Scolopendra altemans is a species that lives on the islands of Cuba, Hawaii, Jamaica and on the coast of South America. Body length up to 18 cm, color from green to olive, head black or red. Scolopendras have spikes that are found in only three species.
  

  

• Scolopendra galapagoensis is one of the largest scolopendras. Representatives of this group exceed the size of a giant scolopendra. Their length is 25-36 cm. It lives in the rain forests of Ecuador, on the Galapagos Islands, in Peru. The legs are yellow to orange; the last pair is red. The first segments of the antennae are bluish, the rest are orange. Prefers a temperature in the range of + 18-28⁰humidity 80%. It feeds on small rodents and insects.
  

  Interesting fact. The limbs of the scolopendra are capable of regeneration, if the enemy bites off her leg, it grows quickly.

• California Scolopendra is the largest representative of its family in North America. Its length is 20 cm. This is one of the most beautiful species of millipedes, the first segments of the head and last bodies are black, the rest is orange-red, legs and antennae are yellow. It lives in dry areas of the USA. An interesting feature - the first 4-6 segments of the antennae glow. The California species can cause skin inflammation even without a bite. Inside the animal’s body is poisonous mucus. Enough contact with a disturbed adult.
• The Chinese red-headed scolopendra is one of the subspecies found in South Asia and Australia. Millipedes live alone, hunting small prey. Nature did not stint, creating their color - a bright orange body and limbs. Body length 20 cm, prefers to settle closer to moisture. Scolopendra subspinipes mutilens are traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat skin diseases. When bitten, arthropod venom causes burning pain.
• Ringed scolopendra - this type of millipede is common in Europe - Italy, Greece, Spain. Their size does not exceed 14 cm. A favorable temperature for these millipedes is + 20-26⁰They feel good in temperate regions. They spend daytime under stones and in crevices of rocks, at night they go hunting. The colors of millipedes are diverse, there are orange, black, olive individuals. The antennae of the ringed scolopendras consist of 18-22 segments, the first 6 always glow. Unlike tropical relatives, the European scolopendra is not so poisonous.

Interesting fact. The common flycatcher, which can often be found in the house, is a relative of the scolopendra. An adult reaches a size of 6 cm, it has long legs and antennae.The body is yellowish with purple stripes. Flycatcher preys on spiders, flies, cockroaches, fleas. The millipede does not show aggression, its weak jaws are unable to bite through human skin.

Why are millipedes dangerous?

The venom of a giant scolopendra will not kill a healthy person, but it will cause pain, swelling, numbness, weakness, possibly a blow. These symptoms will last several hours or days. The wound should be washed with a strong alkaline solution prepared from baking soda. For people prone to allergies, getting poison in the blood can be dangerous. They should be taken to a hospital as soon as possible so that suffocation and paralysis of the heart do not occur.

Crimean millipede

Crimea peninsula - a place where scolopendra lives in Russia. This small animal is a ringed species. She cannot compete in size with larger relatives, her body length is 12 cm. For many, the creature looks frightening and unpleasant. The head and carapace of this species are uniformly black in color, legs are golden brown or yellow. A large number of limbs helps the millipede climb the steep slopes. Its poison is much weaker than that of a tropical scolopendra, but still the bites are painful.

Tip. Staying overnight in the forest, close the tent, and in the morning trot your clothes where a scolopendra can hide. Inspect things so as not to bring her home.

Arthropod leads a nocturnal lifestyle, hiding among stones during the day. In their diet there are mollusks, insects, lizards. The habitats of scolopendras are also the Caucasus Mountains, the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Krasnodar Territory. The life expectancy of the Crimean millipede in the natural environment has not been exactly established, and in captivity it is able to live 5-7 years. Among natural enemies are cats, birds, foxes, large snakes. Eating scolopendra can be dangerous for pets. They are often infected with parasites - ticks and small leeches.

Attention. The ringed scolopendra is not afraid of the neighborhood with a person, it creeps into houses and basements, hides in toilets and bathrooms. In a collision with a millipede, one should be careful not to provoke an attack.

Scientists know about 90 species of scolopendra, all of which are poisonous and aggressive. It is better for people to avoid contact with millipedes, and those who keep them at home should carefully monitor the fast and dexterous pet.