The Backyard Zoo

by Jim Dunlap

"Centipede"

Caution! There’s a pede in the potty. Actually there’s a centipede in the urinal. How he got into the urinal, we may never know. I am not sure what you would call the stroke he was using, but it was reminiscent of oars working to move an ancient Egyptian barge across the Nile.

It brought to mind our latest addition to the collection, a Malayan centipede. He is red and he is big. The one we have is already seven inches long and will grow to almost eleven inches.

All centipedes require moisture to protect their body and die easily from drying out. Therefore, they are found in leaf litter, compost heaps, under logs and rocks, and in the soil. They come out at night to hunt insects, spiders and worms. There is an old folklore tale that if a centipede crawls across your skin, you will rot everywhere its legs touch. Well, this is not true; however, the bite of the centipede is poisonous and can paralyze its prey. Venom is injected not by the jaws but by the front pair of legs, which are specially modified as "poison claws," being hollow and connected to poison glands. Centipedes bite furiously and the pain is comparable to a bee sting. The bite might be dangerous if you are allergic to insect venom. Small centipedes are readily eaten by birds and lizards, but are well protected from enemies of their size by their venomous bite. In staged combat, they are almost always more than a match for spiders or scorpions. There are many different kinds of centipedes but they do not have common names individually. To most people, one looks just like another. Just remember, they all bite!

I rescued the miniscule multi-legger from the urinal least he suffer a death of unspeakable horror. I feel better.

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