# Entomologists: What Be This Bug? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063 "2005-03-17T22:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/1 "2005-03-17T22:40:24Z")
Today we found this [handsome fellow](http://www.skipmagic.net/funimages/misc/bigbug.jpg) hanging out behind one of our servers. Any clue as to what it is? (It kinda looks like a cockroach got lucky with a centipede.) If knowing the region helps in identification, we’re in Kansas City. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/2 "2005-03-17T22:41:55Z")
That’s a house centipede. They bite, but are harmless. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/3 "2005-03-17T22:43:03Z")
I’m no entomologist, but ack! Too many legs! Grab a drive out of the RAID array and squish it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/4 "2005-03-17T22:45:53Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > That’s a house centipede. They bite, but are harmless. Nifty! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/5 "2005-03-18T01:06:04Z")
I’m with **Biffy** on this one. It’s a house centipede. Seeing one is no problem. But if you’re seeing them on a regular basis…well…the main prey of house centipedes are cockroaches. Draw your own conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/6 "2005-03-18T01:28:42Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > I’m no entomologist, but ack! Too many legs! Grab a drive out of the RAID array and squish it! 😃 We get those in our house sometimes. THEY ARE THE CREATURES OF THE DEVIL! They are a sick, evil parody of life created by Satan to mock all that’s good and pure! Ok, other bugs don’t bother me, but centipedes _really, really_ do. ---
**Author:** ![Scarface\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Scarface\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarface_Z)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/7 "2005-03-18T02:23:02Z")
I know it’s of no danger, but don’t centipede have a poisonous bite? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/8 "2005-03-18T03:10:28Z")
The way they move is totally gross. It’s like Bugs Bunny playing the piano and trying to get the mouse. Those things aren’t as nasty as cockroaches, but they’re still pretty nasty. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/9 "2005-03-18T03:19:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I know it’s of no danger, but don’t centipede have a poisonous bite? Yes, but it’s no worse than a bee sting. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/10 "2005-03-18T03:31:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, but it’s no worse than a bee sting. A bit of expansion on that – the centipedes you will encounter in US homes are mostly harmless – as I said, no worse than a bee sting, if that. But if you ever have the chance to run into [this guy](http://www.einet.dk/galleri/Scolopendra_subspinipes_mutilans.htm) I recommend staying the hell away – their bites rival [assassin bugs](http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/assassin.html) for the most painful arthropod bite in existence. I recommend staying away from the assassin bugs as well, but unfortunately they’re all over the southern US, so they’re a bit harder to avoid. I’ve seen that orange critter at the top reduce adults to quivering, weeping piles of jelly. And they _swarm_ after hatching, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sequent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Sequent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sequent)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/11 "2005-03-18T05:02:13Z")
from **yBeayf** ’s assassin bug link: > [@](#): > > Once the insides of the prey are turned into a liquid, the assassin bug uses its rostrum to suck out the liquified tissues in much the same way we use a straw to drink a milkshake! Dude! I grew up in the south, but I never came across one of these buggers. No wonder it hurts: you’re being _liquified_ ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/12 "2005-03-18T17:07:26Z")
Ack ack ack! House centipedes! Demon-bugs! Very bad! They move at Mach 10 and can get three inches long! I didn’t know they ate cockroaches. We had them at my parents’ house (centipedes), but we didn’t have cockroaches. I see an occasional one here, but still no cockroaches. Must be slim pickings around here. Good. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/13 "2005-03-18T17:12:52Z")
I think he kinda looks like a wall hanging. Very festive. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/14 "2005-03-18T17:16:32Z")
[Ogden Nash](http://www.westegg.com/nash/centipede.html)’s observations on this highly annoying little critter. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/15 "2005-03-18T18:03:16Z")
I periodically get house centipedes here, but I’ve never seen a cockroach in my house. I have, however, seen a centipede in the process of eating a small spider, and I do have my share of spiders (I tend to leave them alone until the webs become too noticeable, then I grab the vacuum). I’ve found house centipedes who’ve gotten stuck in my kitchen sink - the sides are too slippery for them to get out. If I put a hand down there, sometimes they’ll hop on, and I lift them out of the sink, turning them loose someplace where they don’t risk floating to their deaths. Having one scurrying around on your hand and forearm is an interesting sensation. I’ve never had one even _try_ to bite me, so I’d rate them as “mostly harmless.” ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/16 "2005-03-18T18:15:23Z")
> [@](#): > > The way they move is totally gross. It’s like Bugs Bunny playing the piano and trying to get the mouse. A small and unimportant point but did Bugs ever chase mice? I always remember Bugs being chased rather than chasing. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/17 "2005-03-18T18:24:28Z")
I thought I read somewhere that house centipedes were not native to the U.S., that they come from Europe, and it’s suspected that tourists brought them over in their suitcases. All I know is, our rustic vacation rental house in France was alive with the little monsters, which caused us to decamp and check into the French version of a Holiday Inn nearby. Ick! That’s one critter you don’t want scurrying across your toes while sitting on the john in the middle of the night, as happened to me. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/18 "2005-03-18T18:37:54Z")
> [@pugluvr](#): > > I thought I read somewhere that house centipedes were not native to the U.S., that they come from Europe, and it’s suspected that tourists brought them over in their suitcases. > > All I know is, our rustic vacation rental house in France was alive with the little monsters, which caused us to decamp and check into the French version of a Holiday Inn nearby. Ick! That’s one critter you don’t want scurrying across your toes while sitting on the john in the middle of the night, as happened to me. It was apparently native to Europe, alright, but arrived here long before tourism was a major industry: > [@](#): > > S. coleoptrata is probably indigenous in the Mediterranean region, but it has spread through much of Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States, it has spread from the southern states and Mexico. It reached Pennsylvania in 1849, New York in 1885, and Massachusetts about 1890, and it is now extends westward to the Rocky Mountains and beyond (Lewis 1981). From [http://www.uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/house\_centipede.html](http://www.uark.edu/depts/entomolo/museum/house_centipede.html) Bugs Bunny - the cartoon being referred to has Bugs playing a piano recital in a concert hall, and he keeps getting upstaged by a mouse playing a tiny little piano and generally interfering with Bugs’ performance. Occasionally, Bugs’ usual role was reversed, and a character was allowed to get the better of him, essentially out-bugsing Bugs. Cecil Turtle, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/19 "2005-03-18T18:37:49Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > A small and unimportant point but did Bugs ever chase mice? I always remember Bugs being chased rather than chasing. **Zsofia** is referring to a specific cartoon in which Bugs is a concert pianist, playing (IIRC) Liszt’s _Hungarian Rhapsody #2_, and there’s a pesky mouse running around in the piano. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063/20 "2005-03-18T18:39:40Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > A small and unimportant point but did Bugs ever chase mice? I always remember Bugs being chased rather than chasing. He did on the piano - the mouse ran along the hammers and Bugs tried to splat him, to the tune of, I think, the first Hungarian Rhapsody. I believe there’s a very similar Tom and Jerry as well, but the cartoon I’m thinking of is definately Bugs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/entomologists-what-be-this-bug/295063.md?page=2)