Centipedes!!!!!

• Centipedes usually have flat shaped bodies, and have one pair of legs per segment. The centipedes are predatory and they use their jaws to bite, tear and chew. They are also equipped with a set of poison claws, a set of hollow legs on the seventh segment with poison glands attached. The first six segments make up the head, equipped with mouth and jaws, a single pair of antennae and small or no eyes. The head is followed by a variable number of body segments, each with a pair of legs. The body is usually flattened and the tail end has a pair of legs that are used as feelers. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300.

• Because of their predatory nature, centipedes are fast and potentially dangerous. Their bite is painful and can be fatal…….. to ants.

• Centipedes are found in leaf litter and lurking under rocks, bark and fallen wood. They do not like light and rest during the day, coming out at night to hunt and feed. Like vampires. Actually, more like teenagers.!!!!!! Some species live in caves. Others are burrowers and never come above ground

• Worldwide there are estimated to be 8,000 species of centipede,of which 3,000 have been described. Centipedes have a wide geographical range, reaching beyond the Arctic Circle.

• Centipedes are eaten by a great many vertebrates and invertebrates, such as mongooses, mice, salamanders, beetles and snakes. Clearly they have never tried cadburys creme eggs before!!!!! They form part of an important diet for many species.