This is a focused stacked image of my preserved male bark centipede showing its forcipules. Bark Centipedes are agile, fast-moving arthropods with one pair of legs per segment of their body. Some may believe that they bite, however, they actually pinch with their forcipules.

Bark Centipedes have a specially evolved pair of front legs (forcipules) that injects venom into their insect prey. They are capable of biting us humans, too, and may do so if disturbed, injured, or threatened. Picking them up is not recommended and catching them is not for the faint of heart because they are fast, and they can whip around and pinch you and it hurts like the dickens. Their pinch is not fatal although it can be quite painful and leave a red and irritated patch of skin around the wound. They are often found hiding under fallen limbs and logs where they hunt for their prey.

The males carry their sperm sack with their rear pair of legs. When they fertilize a female's eggs, she will protect them from anything that may want to prey on them. Young centipedes are smaller, paler-colored versions of adults. They will molt multiple times, shedding their exoskeleton as they grow wider and longer. They may live up to about five years. It is believed that centipedes have existed on Earth for 430 million years.

This is a focused stacked image of my preserved male bark centipede showing its forcipules. Bark Centipedes are agile, fast-moving arthropods with one pair of legs per segment of their body. Some may believe that they bite, however, they actually pinch with their forcipules.

Bark Centipedes have a specially evolved pair of front legs (forcipules) that injects venom into their insect prey. They are capable of biting us humans, too, and may do so if disturbed, injured, or threatened. Picking them up is not recommended and catching them is not for the faint of heart because they are fast, and they can whip around and pinch you and it hurts like the dickens. Their pinch is not fatal although it can be quite painful and leave a red and irritated patch of skin around the wound. They are often found hiding under fallen limbs and logs where they hunt for their prey.

The males carry their sperm sack with their rear pair of legs. When they fertilize a female's eggs, she will protect them from anything that may want to prey on them. Young centipedes are smaller, paler-colored versions of adults. They will molt multiple times, shedding their exoskeleton as they grow wider and longer. They may live up to about five years. It is believed that centipedes have existed on Earth for 430 million years.