Feb 18
Australian House Centipede (Allothereua maculata), family Scutigeridae, Australia
Though they are venomous, they are not considered harmful to humans.
photographs by Tony Eales
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Australian House Centipede (Allothereua maculata), family Scutigeridae, Australia
Though they are venomous, they are not considered harmful to humans.
photographs by Tony Eales
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the most wonderfully calm and polite allothereua maculata i have ever met. usually they're incredibly scrambly and run around in an understandable panic but this guy was chilling in a crevice in some fallen bark. wonderful.
Adventures with Ambrose : Take an Adventure with Ambrose to see a House Centipede sitting incredibly still on some bark. Was it asleep, or did it think it was camouflaged?
#2016 - Allothereua maculata - Australian House Centipede
Photo by Patrick Wake
Southern Australia's most common native Scutigerid - the better-known House Centipede Scutigera coleoptrata was introduced from the Mediterranean area, and is much more common inside houses.
House centipedes differ from other centipedes in having comparatively short bodies, 15 pairs of very long legs (each pair longer than the ones in front), very long slender antennae, and a pair of well-developed, sensitive, compound eyes. Newly-hatched house centipedes only have 4 pairs of legs, and gain more body segments and legs with each molt. They are long lived (up to 7 years) and renowned for their speed, being capable of moving at up to 40 cm/s.
Patrick and Jasper Dean were out photographing nocturnal insects when they spotted it on a paperbark trunk - but it had vanished between the flash going off and lowering the camera again. They are extremely fast - for a while they were concerned it had run up their raincoats. Instead it was already on the next tree over.
The combination of alarming appearance and high speed movement may make house centipedes scary, but they are only mildly venomous. They are highly unlikely to bite, and are much more likely to drop a leg or two if threatened, then flee if possible. Their bite is certainly no worse than a bee sting, but like a bee sting if you are susceptible to allergic reactions, you should seek medical advice.