Giant Centipede Doesn't Respect Food Chain

The food chain, while informal, does tend to have a few rules. Chief among them is the general consensus that those of us with backbones get to eat the ones that don't (I am in favor of this being a rule, even if it isn't, owing to the fact that I, and most of you reading, have backbones). Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell the Giant Amazonian Centipede about this little rule. He tends to enjoy eating such things as mice and bats.

Yes, that mouse is in trouble. The Giant Centipede grows over a foot long (see first picture for scale - no that's not me, I'd be way to chicken), and is extremely venomous. Mice are easy, he just has to sneak up behind them. Bats are a bit tougher, seeing as the Giant Centipede isn't content to catch them on the ground. Instead, he nabs them in flight.

He does this by climbing onto cave ceilings and hanging down. Then, when a bat flies by, he grabs it and bites. His venom is so powerful that the bat is killed instantaneously. It takes him an hour or two to eat, but after that, I think he deserves it. Watch a video of him in action below.

Strangely, people have been adopting them as pets recently. If you decide to follow them, remember

extreme care must be taken while handling them due to the fact that the slightest trace of the venom can cause a reaction on the skin. Fortunately, the poison from the Scolopendra gigantea is insufficient to kill a healthy human adult. The alarmingly massive centipede can, however, cause symptoms such as local sharp pain, swelling, chills, fever, weakness, and uncontrollable running-away-and-screaming.

Pictures courtesy of Cracked.com(NSFW/18+) and Damn Interesting.

Youtube video courtesy of user Twinkdizogg

Centipede Dining

It's time for some more photos from the illustrious Igor Siwanowicz. Here are a few he took of Scolopendra cingulata, aka the Megarian Banded Centipede.

Though this species is one of the smaller of the otherwise oversized scolopendrids (this centipede gets to be 10-15 cm), and their venom isn't quite as toxic as that of their bigger brothers, they are still known to be very fast and aggressive.

Of course, being smaller and less toxic was of little consolation to the grasshopper.

The megarian banded centipede is native to the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. So, if you're a grasshopper or some other form of centipede prey (or a scaredy cat like me), you'll want to avoid dark, damp environments like beneath logs and in leaf piles. Thankfully, I tend to stay away from those places anyway.

Thanks for the photos, Igor.

Thoughtful Centipede

Ever wondered what a thoughtful centipede would look like? Of course you haven't. But this is the best likeness you're likely to find: reclined on its back, its antennae swaying, its mandibles absentmindedly clicking, its myriad feet drumming on its chitinous belly. I just wonder what's going through that bundle of nerves it calls a brain. Something involving hunting and venom no doubt.

Thanks for the centipede, Stephen.

No Centipedes? What?

What was that, Callandrea? You don't want a post on centipedes?

...fighting urge...cannot overcome...must post...

Ah. Here it is - another of Jade's wonderful critters, as promised and dreaded. This centipede, known as a 'neon blue centipede' (trachymorcephalus sp.), is incredibly rare. In fact, Jade may have one of the only ones in the US. They are docile for centipedes, which isn't saying much (they're still very aggressive and venomous).

If you want to see some centipedes in action, click on this link for some videos. Make sure you're not eating.

Thanks for the photo, Jade.

UPDATE: Jade actually has four of these, and is actively striving to breed them. That means more centipede for all of us!

Purple Mark and Tons of Legs

I have never encountered one of these, for which I am very, very grateful. You're looking at a top view of the house centipede.

Poor Victorya has been besieged by a swarm of these monstrous pests in her Manhattan apartment. Though Victorya is happy to let spiders share her pad, she has no such inclination when it comes to the house centipede. As she put it, when you smash one it leaves a "purple mark and tons of legs stuck to the wall." Yummy.

Keep up the good fight, Victorya. We're all rooting for you. I hope purple matches your decorating scheme.

Thanks for the photo, Victorya.

Photo source: University of Nebraska

Proud Mommy-pede

I think Jade has been making some offerings to a fertility god or two. Not only has one of his scorpions recently reproduced, but check out the proud mommy centipede below!

Jade reports that since this photo the eggs have hatched, leaving the mom with a brood of pede-lings to care for, which she'll do for several months. I just have one question: what about daddy centipede? Dead beat.

Thanks for the photo, Jade.

Ugly & Equilibrium

Callandrea, no doubt having grown weary of my centipede posts, decided to take matters into her own hands by taking this photo of a donkey at the zoo. Thank you, Callandrea. You have successfully diluted the centipede post concetration on this blog.

Unfortunately, you have also increased the concentration of equines-with-grass-in-their-teeth posts. See? The universe always strives for equilibrium. Laws of thermonuclear dynamics and stuff, I think.

House Centipede Benefits

Chrissie sent in this photo of a house centipede. She's had to bring in an exterminator to erradicate this abomination. These nasties have fifteen pairs of legs, which makes them fast. So fast in fact, that she even mistook one scampering across her floor for a rat when she first saw it.

According to her exterminator, these are the most beneficial of household pests, since they eat termites, spiders, bedbugs, cockroaches, and silverfish, etc. You just have to watch out for their poisonous stings.

Like Chrissie, I believe that the 'benefits' of this ugly pest do nothing to counterbalance the horror I would feel at having one climb up my leg. I don't think any home seller would place "free house centipedes included" in their real estate ad.

Thanks for the photo, Chrissie

Centipede on a Stick

I believe this is the giant red-headed centipede (please correct me if I'm wrong). These suckers get to be 8" in length and are known to be aggressive hunters. Thankfully, they aren't found in California. Rather, they inhabit Arkansas and several other nearby states in the US.

If you're looking for a way to induce vomiting, then watch some of the videos on YouTube of these centipedes eating mice. It's a great weight-loss program.

Photo courtesy: Curtis Morton

More Food Chain Disrespect

You may recall a bit earlier I introduced you to the Giant Centipede, which doesn't follow normal food-chain conventions, given that a large portion of its diet are bats that it catches in flight. Today, I'll be giving you some new nightmares, with another bug that eats above it's station - the Giant Water Bug.

Now, Water Bugs like this are known to take small vertebrates (frogs and fish) for dinner, but the Giant Water Bug, Kirkaldyia deyrolli, from Japan sets its sights a bit higher.

Yes, it's eating a turtle. According to the researcher who photographed it, this particular specimen was about 6 cm long, less than half their maximum size of 15 cm. After catching it, as the bugs only catch live (or at least moving) prey, the Water Bug "insert[ed] its syringe-like rostrum into the prey's neck in order to feed." Again, not the proper order for the food chain. Similar species live across North and South America, as well as East Asia. They're nocturnal, can fly, and have a venomous bite. They have been know to bite humans, causing pain for several hours. Anyway, here's another one, this time eating a snake.

Thanks to the BBC for information and pictures.

Tkrausse

The Marsupial Mole

Booge asked that I post on the marsupial mole, and I aim to please.

Behold this little-understood borrowing marsupial of Australia. These blind, earless creatures rarely come to the surface, so we don't know much about them. But when they do rear their endearing heads, we are given a treat. They don't dig permanent burrows, but actually collapse their tunnels behind them as they go. They've got a unique feature to them: their neck vertebrae are fused together to facilitate their burrowing.

I once had a neurosurgeon recommend that I have my c5 & c6 vertebrae fused to treat a ruptured disc. I refused him, and I'm all better. Ah, to think I would have had something in common with this little beast. I can't help but respect any animal that can eat a centipede head first.

Photo source: Ken Tucky

Ugly Bug Faces

Dark Roasted Blend has a fantastic spread of ugly bug faces (are there any other kind of bug faces? -- that's a rhetorical and inciteful question, you bug lovers). A lot of them were taken by an electron microscope, and I recommend you check them out.

Here are some of the others. Please welcome the Antlion (aka doodlebug) for her debut on Ugly Overload. And then, of course, we have the ever-popular house centipede.

Thanks for the link, Mary, Annica, and Lee Ann.

Specialized Mole

Rare is the day when I see anything get the best of a centipede. That alone endears this creature to me (sorry, you invert lovers).

You're looking at the profile of a new addition to Ugly Overload: the marsupial mole. There are two species of these Australian marsupials, and not much is known about them.

They are the epitome of specialization. Anything that doesn't aid in digging has been disposed of, including eyes, external ears, and a tail (vestigial at best). On the flip side, it has some unique digging upgrades: the third and fourth digits on the front paws sport elongated claws (see photo), their marsupial pouches face backward (like the wombat) to keep dirt from getting inside, and their neck vertebrae are fused together to help them ramrod their way through sod.

I'm reminded of myself. I've stripped away anything that doesn't assist in accounting or blogging, including physical health, social grace, and pigment in my skin. On the other hand, my sack-of-potatoes body fits easily into any office chair, I have calluses on my blunted fingertips, and I absorb sustenance from the glare of my LCD monitor, photosynthesis-style.

Thanks for the critter, Mike. Once again, I find myself pining for the Outback.

Photo source: Animal Pictures Archive

Chinese Red

Our resident invert breeder extraordinaire, Jade, has a new friend he wants to share with us. It is a Chinese red centipede (Scolopendra sp.), now 6" long, soon to be 9" long. He is very mean and his venom is very, very potent.

The two photos in which he is curled up show him in the process of devouring a roach. My eating style is similar, which has gotten me kicked out of more than one all-you-can-eat buffet.

Thanks for the photos, Jade.

Dimorphism

It never ceases to amaze me how things come together on this blog. No sooner had Jade forwarded me these photos, than Aubrey asks for some tarantula photos to undo the horror of the house centipede.

Well Aubrey, once again, Jade aims to please.

You'll recall a while back that I posted on his beloved Antillies Pink Toe tarantula. Here he is again, but this time with a perfect counter example of sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism? (be sure not to say that out loud) That's when one sex of a species has different physical characteristics from the other. Think of the male peacock's tail feathers as compared to the drab female.

That same difference appears between the sexes of this particular spider (Avicularia versicolor). The first image is that of Jade's male. Note the pretty sheen and colors. The second shot is of his recently-matured female. Note the lack of color. (I'm sure she makes up for the disparity with a sweet spirit.)

Thanks for sharing, Jade. Thanks Aubrey, for proving that the cosmos are aligning in favor of the un-cute critters of the world.

Sinister Therapy

It seems from prior posts that many of you have had less than pleasant encounters with the house centipede. Perhaps it was out of a sinister impulse that Jade sent this photo along, to drive the blade a bit deeper. He likes this one because you can see the beast's eyes.

Or, perhaps Jade thought it would be therapeutic, that another safe encounter with this critter will lessen the fear, dull the pain, and expose those frightening experiences to the light of day.

Whatever the case is, thanks Jade.

Miscellany

Here is a grab bag of a post. Take what you like!

Find out more about eel pouts. Very interesting stuff. Believe me, you'll want to attend the next festival near you. Thanks for the link, you good folks at the Sons of Norway.

Or, if you were hoping to be grossed out, read this article about a boy who got more than he bargained for when he went in to get his ear ache examined. Here's a hint: it's spider-iffic. Thanks for the link, Denita.

And last but not least, here is a video that shows what happens when a giant centipede meets up with a monster tarantula. Don't click the video if you don't want to watch one arthropod get the better of another. As I watched it, I wondered who Jade would root for ...

Envenomator

You're looking at a giant carnivorous centipede, possibly a member of scolopendra gigantea. The guy holding this is defying the MSDS sheet that came along with this arthropod. Their poison is very toxic. In fact, should you be envenomated (great word!) by one of the members of scolopendra, you would suffer from scolopendrism, which consists of local sharp pain (think hornet sting), severe swelling, chills, fever, and weakness.

The next time you travel to South America or the Caribbean, say, to Jamaica, keep your eye out for these. Paradise can be a painful place.

Thanks for the photo, Phlimm.

Photo courtesy: Mark M. Lucas