Some people experience fear when they see insects. In scientific circles it is called insectophobia or entomophobia. There is a version that the fear of arthropods is embedded in genetic memory and has been preserved since ancient times, when insects were of enormous size and posed a serious danger to humans. One of these representatives of the fauna is the centipede drupe, the appearance of which evokes fear and horror. However, if you get acquainted with its feeding habits and lifestyle, the multi-legged creature will seem quite harmless and even useful.
Lifestyle of centipedes
Millipedes are generalist predators, meaning they are able to feed on a wide range of available food.
They find prey mainly using their antennae. Small species eat insects, but the giant Amazon centipede is the largest of its relatives, and it can attack mice, frogs, birds, spiders and lizards. Centipedes are predominantly nocturnal. But research has shown that the Strigamia chinophila species prefers to be diurnal. They protect themselves from predators due to the fact that they can develop good speed.
Centipedes prefer damp environments.
Structure and appearance
An adult specimen of the house scolopendra can reach 60 mm in length. Its body is yellowish-gray or brown with three reddish-violet or bluish stripes on its back. On the head there are compound eyes and long, thin mustaches, which provide the scolopendra with excellent vision and a sense of vibration.
The body is divided into 15 segments, each of which has one pair of legs, which is why the centipede is sometimes called a centipede or centipede. The front pair of legs near the head was transformed into claws-jaws, used by the insect to capture and eat prey. The hind legs are very long, similar to whiskers; because of this feature, it is sometimes difficult to determine where the insect begins and where the end is.
Insect lifestyle
House centipedes are predators; they are excellent hunters and eat other domestic insects such as spiders, cockroaches, bedbugs and flies, which is why they are nicknamed flycatchers. In nature, these insects actively hunt both during the day and at night, but in an apartment they prefer the dark for hunting.
The flycatcher sits motionless on the wall or ceiling, guarding an unwary victim. Having caught her, the scolopendra inflicts a fatal poisonous bite on her and then slowly eats her. At the same time, the centipede is capable of catching several insects at once, which it will eat in turn, firmly holding the caught prey in its paws.
Despite the fact that the scolopendra is poisonous, it is not dangerous to people; its poison is very weak to cause significant harm to humans. They bite only in case of self-defense, and human skin is too thick for them to bite through.
Even if a scolopendra manages to bite through human skin, only a slight burning sensation will be felt at the site of the bite and swelling will appear, which will go away after a few hours.
Centipedes are native to the Middle East, Southern Europe and North Africa; they are found in southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Moldova.
These are heat-loving insects that prefer a humid climate. In nature, centipedes live in fallen leaves under trees, but in houses they also prefer wet rooms - baths, basements and toilets. During the cold season, even when indoors, scolopendras hide in secluded places and do not show much activity.
Measures to control house centipedes
Many conventional methods of controlling domestic insects are not suitable for centipedes, due to the peculiarities of their structure and life. Standard adhesive tapes will not hold the centipede; it will tear off the stuck legs and run away, and new ones will soon grow in their place. Various baits also have no effect on them, since they feed exclusively on live insects.
But there are still ways to get rid of these insects in the house:
- You should carry out a general cleaning of the area near the house: remove all old leaves, grass, climbing plants from the walls, this way the scolopendra will lose its shelters, which will reduce the likelihood of its appearance in the home;
- a small number of centipedes usually appear in a house or apartment, so you can simply kill or catch them all, thus ridding the house of their presence;
- flycatchers usually settle where there is a lot of food for them, so by getting rid of other insects in the house, you can automatically get rid of centipedes; they will go to other places in search of food;
- since centipedes are moisture-loving insects, you need to monitor the humidity in your home, by cleaning and drying basements and underground spaces, you can create an unsuitable climate for flycatchers, and they will leave to look for more humid places;
- centipedes do not enter houses through doors, but by crawling into all sorts of cracks and cracks, so you need to carefully seal holes in floors and baseboards, putty cracks along windows and doors, and cover ventilation holes with mosquito nets;
- the use of poisons is only suitable as a last resort, when other methods of control do not help, while chemical toxic substances for insects are used to treat premises.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nxWnBXpj44E
In some places this insect is an endangered species and is listed in the Red Book.
Classification
Centipedes do not form a fairly monolithic class, but are divided into groups so different from each other that many zoologists divide the class of millipedes into four different classes. We will consider these groups at the rank of subclasses. The class of centipedes (Myriapoda) is divided into four subclasses, two of which are of greatest importance: 1. Dipopods (Diplopoda); 2. Lipopods (Chilopoda).
Subclass Diplopoda
This largest group includes about 7,200 species of moisture-loving centipedes that live in the forest floor, under fallen trees and in stumps. They, unlike some labiopods, rarely climb tree trunks. Bipeds feed on rotting leaves and decaying wood. Due to their abundance, they bring significant benefits by participating in the mineralization of organic residues: forest litter, dead wood, etc. In our fauna, peculiar centipedes are common - nodule (genus Julus), with an almost round body in cross section, distinguished by a very large number of legs and slow movements. Nozzles, disturbed by something, curl up into a spiral.
Many bipeds have venom glands on the lateral sections of their dorsal scutes. In some tropical species of millipedes, the poison contains hydrocyanic acid; it was once used by Indians to poison arrows.
Subclass Labiopods Chilopoda
A large group (2800 species) of labiopods are represented by active predators, in contrast to all other millipedes, which feed on decaying or living parts of plants. The predation of labiopods is associated with the transformation of the first pair of their trunk legs into grasping jaws equipped with a poisonous gland.
Labiopods, like all centipedes, lead a predominantly secretive nocturnal lifestyle. During the day, you should look for them under fallen leaves and stones, in hollows and under the bark of dead trees, etc. A small (up to 3.2 cm in length) centipede drupe (Lithobius forficatus) is common in our fauna. She has 16 pairs of legs, of which the hind ones are greatly elongated and perform a tactile function. There are rather long antennae on the head.
In the Crimea, the Caucasus and Central Asia, small centipedes with very long limbs, called flycatchers, are found in human habitations (houses). Eyeless centipedes geophiles with a very large number of segments (more than 170) live in the soil, sometimes deep from the surface. Geophilus longicornis is common in our fauna.
The largest of the labiopods, the poisonous centipedes, are widely represented in the tropics. In the Crimea, the Caucasus and Moldova, the ringed scolopendra (Scolopendra cingulata) is found, reaching a length of 10-17 cm. Its bite causes not only severe swelling in humans, but also general poisoning. The temperature rises to 38-39°C, general weakness and headache are observed. However, all painful phenomena go away on their own after 1-2 days. The bite of the Brazilian giant scolopendra (S. gigas) also does not appear to be fatal.
Reproduction and development
The lifespan of flycatchers is 3-7 years. Reproduction occurs during the warm period of the year. Males and females find each other by smell. During mating, the male releases a spermatophore, and the female captures it with her genital appendages. Soon after, she lays 60-150 eggs in the soil, covering them with a protective sticky substance. In the first two weeks of life, small flycatchers emerging from eggs spend time with their mother, who protects them.
Newly hatched flycatchers are similar to adult flycatchers, but are much smaller in size and have only 4 pairs of legs. After the first molt, the number of pairs of legs increases to 5, and the second and third molt add two more pairs of legs to the millipedes. After the fourth molt, the flycatcher has 13 pairs of legs, and after the fifth, 15 pairs of legs.
What does it look like
The body of the drupe is flat. It reaches a length of about 3 cm. The nimble and flat centipede quickly hides from danger in the narrowest crevices. Moreover, she sees the world around her poorly, despite the large number of eyes. The drupe is best oriented by touch, and for this purpose there are many tactile hairs on its limbs. She also feels the surrounding space with the help of antennae. Interestingly, the last two pairs of legs of this insect act as antennae when it has to move backwards, running away from enemies. They feel the way. An additional sense that the centipede uses to move and get food is smell. Just like other insects, the common drupe has respiratory organs.
Millipedes: nooses, drupes and geophiles
It's easy to identify each one. The nodule has many legs (more than a hundred pairs), but the animal is slow: until the first legs on the first segments turn to the last!
Kivsyak gray. Photo from macroid.ru
The legs are small (you still need to see them), thin and weak, which is why they are slow-moving: they move smoothly, slowly, bending like a gymnast’s ribbon in very slow motion.
Drupes are fast animals, but they have only 15 pairs of legs (strong, long).
Common drupe. Photo from wikimedia.org
If suddenly the shelter turns out to be broken into, then it is unlikely that it will be possible to catch the drupe, and not only because of the surprise of the meeting - it will quickly be able to hide in the crack.
The light, thin body of the geophile is carried by more than 30 pairs of legs, carried quickly, but somehow not very skillfully, as if drawing a sine wave.
Geophil. Photo from macroid.ru
But this type of movement allows you to literally dig into the soil: the geophile has just been on the surface - and now there is no trace of him.
Woodlice also have many legs, although fewer than drupes.
Everyone is familiar with wood lice
Everyone is familiar with these animals, because we happen to meet them both in houses and apartments, and there are even more of them in the garden. But woodlice are not related to centipedes; they are related to crayfish: they breathe, like crayfish, with gills, and therefore always live in damp places.
Waiting for the kids
In nature, mating of these insects occurs after hibernation. The initiator of the relationship is the male. He first prepares a “nuptial bed” in the form of a web, woven by himself, on which he deposits the spermatophore. Now all that remains is to invite the female. The male drupe “invites” her to the nest by flapping his antennae. Moving along the web, the female collects the spermatophore on the legs, from which it enters the genital opening. Having laid the eggs, the female takes care of them. It curls up into a ring around the future offspring and secretes mucus that protects it from drying out. Babies are born with only 7 pairs of legs, but grow quickly and soon reach the size of their parents.
In this article we talked about how the common drupe lives. Anyone who sees this insect in their home can take their breath away. But if you know that these centipedes are useful, for example, because they eat cockroaches, then you begin to treat them completely differently.
Is it worth fighting against the nod?
By nature, kiwis are vegetarians, but if a person keeps them at home, then you can feed them anything, without going to extremes, of course. Invertebrates climb from the site into the house if there is high humidity outside, which provokes accelerated reproduction of individuals. Houses are usually settled in the kitchen or bathroom, since water is present there. They scare you with their appearance when they crawl on the ceiling.
They are active at night, because during the day the sun negatively affects the shells, drying them out. They do not carry infections or diseases, and do not bite people or domestic animals. They are very shy, and in case of any danger they turn into a dense circle and emit foul odors to protect the abdomen. There is no danger to people, except that they may stain their clothes or hands.
Few people can be happy about the appearance of centipedes in the house, especially impressionable owners. In such cases, many wonder how to eliminate them. Insecticides are not very effective against pests, so the best solution is to use special traps. They should be laid out in the evening. To attract nooks, any damp rag or pieces of potato are placed there. For greater effect, you can use “Pochin” (food bait-insecticide).
Sometimes pests settle in pots with indoor plants, and thereby greatly upset the owners. Noises appear there because organic matter is necessarily present in any pot. This can happen if you use untreated soil from the site.
Important! Before adding garden soil to a pot for indoor plants, it is recommended to pour boiling water over it. If you regularly pour tea leaves into pots, this will only speed up the process of pest reproduction.
This is also facilitated by fallen buds and leaves that were not removed on time. After the nooses eat all the rottenness, they switch to flowers
If you regularly pour tea leaves into pots, this will only speed up the process of pest reproduction. This is also facilitated by fallen buds and leaves that were not removed on time. After the moths eat all the rotten stuff, they switch to flowers.
If the plant is small in size, then it should be carefully dug up and the pot with soil should be placed in water for a while. If it is impossible to use this method, it is better to use one of the popular insecticides - “Karate Zeon” or “Aktofit”.
Habitat and lifestyle
Millipedes live almost all over the world, they can be found throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Quite often they are spotted in Crimea, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the Volga region and the Caucasus. Flycatchers prefer temperate climates.
They are typically found in wet areas, such as rotting logs, under trees, under rocks, caves, trash, or in piles of fallen leaves and grass clippings. When centipedes enter human territory, they settle in the most humid corners - in basements and cellars, bathrooms, toilets, under the floor of a private house, in a bathhouse, in a greenhouse and greenhouse. At night, the centipede can be found in dry places, for example, on the floor in a room.
Most centipedes have poor eyesight and track their prey using touch and smell. But the scutiger centipede has good vision and additionally “scans” the environment with its antennae with sensitive sensory receptors. The antennae help her capture any air fluctuations, drafts, decrease or increase in temperature.
Millipedes are primarily carnivorous and obtain most of their moisture needs from their prey. Most house centipedes are nocturnal and hunt mainly for flies, spiders and sometimes eat plant tissue.
Features of reproduction
Scootigers breed in the warm season, when conditions are most favorable. The mating behavior of scolopendras is quite interesting.
Before contact, the female and male must feel each other using their antennae. Otherwise, the female may perceive the male as a victim and attack him.
The method of fertilization in centipedes is external-internal
It is important that the female must capture the male’s spermatophore as soon as possible so that it is in the air for a split second. To do this, the male pushes the female towards the spermatophore
Flycatcher egg laying
Babies develop very quickly
The female lays eggs one at a time, but in total - about 60. After this, she covers the clutch with a sticky substance for protection. After hatching, it can be noted that the young individual differs from the adult in the number of pairs of legs - it has only 4 of them.
The number of pairs of legs increases with each molt to a final number of 15 pairs. In total, the scolopendra passes through five successive molts. The lifespan of flycatchers ranges from 3 to 7 years.
The material should not be thin plastic so that they do not chew their way out
In addition, it is important to use optimal lighting
It should be borne in mind that centipedes are extremely fond of making holes. Therefore, the bottom of the terrarium needs to be covered with something. You can mix peat, vermiculite and soil (10/20/70), this composition is suitable for tropical species, or you can mix sand and soil in half for desert varieties.
The temperature in the terrarium should be about 22 degrees during the day and 19 at night. You need to arrange shelters in the terrarium. It is necessary to spray the terrarium periodically to create humidity. There should always be a drinking bowl with settled water in the container.
Since centipedes are hunters, in captivity it is necessary to feed them grasshoppers, crickets, and for the giant variety of this centipede, mice may also be required. Feeding should be done once or twice a week. If the animal does not eat, it is likely that shedding will occur soon.
Giant scolopendra in natural conditions
Before molting, the centipede's color darkens. The molting process lasts from minutes to hours, which is determined by the size of the individual. After molting, animals are quite defenseless, since their exoskeleton becomes soft and vulnerable.
Within two weeks, the exoskeleton hardens. During this period, you should be careful with feeding: some insects can damage the centipede.
Notes
- Gilyarov M. S. Superclass Centipedes (Myriapoda) // Animal life. Volume 3. Arthropods: trilobites, chelicerates, trachea-breathers. Onychophora / ed. M. S. Gilyarova, F. N. Pravdina, ch. ed. V. E. Sokolov. — 2nd ed. - M.: Education, 1984. - P. 120. - 463 p.
- Sharova I. Kh.
Zoology of invertebrates / A. N. Sokolov. — Educational edition. - M.: VLADOS, 2002. - P. 422. - 592 p. — 20,000 copies. — ISBN 5-691-00332-1. - Minelli, Alessandro.
"Class Chilopoda, Class Symphyla and Class Pauropoda". — In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) “Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness.” (English) // Zootaxa. — Magnolia Press. - Vol. 3148. - P. 157-158.
How to get rid of sand slugger: chemicals and folk methods
The sand borer is a polyphagous insect pest that damages a wide range of crops.
Beetle Opatrum sabulosum
The beetle gives particular preference to vegetable seedlings and row crops.
In order to preserve the harvest, every gardener and gardener must know how the sand worm reproduces, its appearance and the damage caused by the insect.
Characteristics of the sand slugger
The international scientific name of the beetle is Opatrum sabulosum. It belongs to the order Coleoptera, the darkling beetle family.
The body of an adult individual has an oval, slightly convex shape. The sides are located almost parallel to each other.
Sandy medlyak
The body length of an adult insect is 7-10 mm. The body of the beetle is covered with soil particles. Its color depends on the type of soil and varies from gray-brown to black.
Judging by the description of the sand slugger, it has only one front pair of wings, covered with rows of large growths.
Comparison of the size of a beetle with a human hand
The beetle has three pairs of legs covered with short bristles and spines. You can distinguish a female from a male by the absence of a thick hair brush on the legs of the latter.
You can also read our article: Dung beetle, appearance and damage from insects
Features of life activity and stages of reproduction
With the onset of cold weather, the sand slugger hibernates, burrowing into the upper layers of the soil and rotting plant remains.
The first insects appear on the soil surface in early spring. The time to emerge from suspended animation depends on the degree of soil heating.
Already in April, the beetles begin mating, and at the beginning of the last month of spring, the females lay eggs, digging small depressions in the ground.
Beetle mating process
From eggs laid in early May, larvae appear within two weeks, which are called false wireworms.
Outwardly, they resemble click beetle larvae. With later clutches, the offspring are hatched in early summer.
After 35-40 days, the larvae turn into pupae, and after one week young insects emerge from the pupae. Larvae emerging from late ovipositions turn into pupae at the end of summer and overwinter in pupal cradles.
What does it eat and where does it live?
The sand slugger is a polyphagous insect. Adults cause particular damage to agricultural crops. They eat up seedlings of row crops and vegetable seedlings.
The fruits of beetle activity are especially noticeable on the following crops:
- sunflower;
- corn;
- cabbage;
- tomatoes;
- soy;
- beans;
- onion.
The pest beetle prefers to eat wilting plants, which is most typical of newly planted vegetable seedlings.
Medley on the shoot of a plant
The duration of the harmful stage of the sand slugger is about two weeks. Already in early June, the beetle’s activity weakens, and by the middle of the month it stops altogether.
But when the adult insects have had their fill, larvae are born and begin to eat away the roots of the row crop plants. It should be noted that insect pests prefer dry sandy soils and a moderately warm climate.
Sand slugger larva
Looking at a photo of a sand slugger, it won’t be difficult to spot it. This beetle is distributed in the southern European part of Russia, southern Siberia, the Caucasus (with the exception of southeastern Transcaucasia), Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Its greatest numbers are observed in Ukraine, in the middle and southern parts of Europe and Mongolia.
How to deal with a pest
You can fight the pest in the following ways:
- agrotechnical;
- chemical
Agrotechnical measures to combat the sand slugger include:
- autumn plowing;
- frequent loosening of the soil and cutting of weeds;
- clearing weeds from rows;
- destruction of plant residues.
Among the chemical control methods used are the following:
- seed dressing;
- laying out poisonous baits.
To treat seeds, the insecticidal drug Imidor Pro is used, which has a systemic effect on the beetle’s body.
Traps are prepared from grass, which is mixed with the following insecticidal agents:
- Aktaroy;
- Karbofos;
- Hexachlorane;
- Heptachlor;
- Wofatox, etc.
For every 0.5 kg of grass take about 10 g of pesticide.
Aktara remedy
This mixture is used to make shelters that will certainly attract beetles. To increase efficiency, at least 100 traps must be laid out for every 1 hectare of land.
Conclusion
The sand borer causes irreparable harm to agriculture. Therefore, when it is detected, it is necessary to take urgent measures to exterminate the pest.
But the best way to protect yourself is to carry out preventive measures, including digging up the soil in the fall and clearing the area of weeds.
Structure and appearance
An adult specimen of the house scolopendra can reach 60 mm in length.
Its body is yellowish-gray or brown with three reddish-violet or bluish stripes on its back. On the head there are compound eyes and long, thin mustaches, which provide the scolopendra with excellent vision and a sense of vibration. The body is divided into 15 segments, each of which has one pair of legs, which is why the centipede is sometimes called a centipede or centipede. The front pair of legs near the head was transformed into claws-jaws, used by the insect to capture and eat prey. The hind legs are very long, similar to whiskers; because of this feature, it is sometimes difficult to determine where the insect begins and where the end is.
Insect lifestyle
House centipedes are predators; they are excellent hunters and eat other domestic insects such as spiders, cockroaches, bedbugs and flies, which is why they are nicknamed flycatchers. In nature, these insects actively hunt both during the day and at night, but in an apartment they prefer the dark for hunting.
The flycatcher sits motionless on the wall or ceiling, guarding an unwary victim. Having caught her, the scolopendra inflicts a fatal poisonous bite on her and then slowly eats her. At the same time, the centipede is capable of catching several insects at once, which it will eat in turn, firmly holding the caught prey in its paws.
Despite the fact that the scolopendra is poisonous, it is not dangerous to people; its poison is very weak to cause significant harm to humans. They bite only in case of self-defense, and human skin is too thick for them to bite through.
Even if a scolopendra manages to bite through human skin, only a slight burning sensation will be felt at the site of the bite and swelling will appear, which will go away after a few hours.
Centipedes are native to the Middle East, Southern Europe and North Africa; they are found in southern Russia, Kazakhstan and Moldova.
These are heat-loving insects that prefer a humid climate. In nature, centipedes live in fallen leaves under trees, but in houses they also prefer wet rooms - baths, basements and toilets. During the cold season, even when indoors, scolopendras hide in secluded places and do not show much activity.
Measures to control house centipedes
Many conventional methods of controlling domestic insects are not suitable for centipedes, due to the peculiarities of their structure and life. Standard adhesive tapes will not hold the centipede; it will tear off the stuck legs and run away, and new ones will soon grow in their place. Various baits also have no effect on them, since they feed exclusively on live insects.
But there are still ways to get rid of these insects in the house:
- You should carry out a general cleaning of the area near the house: remove all old leaves, grass, climbing plants from the walls, this way the scolopendra will lose its shelters, which will reduce the likelihood of its appearance in the home;
- a small number of centipedes usually appear in a house or apartment, so you can simply kill or catch them all, thus ridding the house of their presence;
- flycatchers usually settle where there is a lot of food for them, so by getting rid of other insects in the house, you can automatically get rid of centipedes; they will go to other places in search of food;
- since centipedes are moisture-loving insects, you need to monitor the humidity in your home, by cleaning and drying basements and underground spaces, you can create an unsuitable climate for flycatchers, and they will leave to look for more humid places;
- centipedes do not enter houses through doors, but by crawling into all sorts of cracks and cracks, so you need to carefully seal holes in floors and baseboards, putty cracks along windows and doors, and cover ventilation holes with mosquito nets;
- the use of poisons is only suitable as a last resort, when other methods of control do not help, while chemical toxic substances for insects are used to treat premises.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nxWnBXpj44E
In some places this insect is an endangered species and is listed in the Red Book.
Why is it dangerous?
With the appearance of unusual neighbors, people are interested in why centipedes are dangerous. Apart from its frightening appearance, the common flycatcher is absolutely safe for households or their pets. In addition, the centipede prefers to hunt at night, so many people are not even aware of its existence.
If you try to pick up the centipede with your hands, you will likely experience irritation on the skin. This is due to the fact that the flycatcher’s venom transfers to the skin from the paws. Like insect bites, this can cause some discomfort to a person.
But it is easy to get rid of it by placing the limb under a stream of cold water.
Mechanical method of fighting centipedes
Mechanical methods of control include traps. Traps are installed in their habitats - near vegetable and berry beds. Let's look at several types of traps:
- A trap made of wire is half immersed in the soil. Poisoned, slightly rotting baits are placed inside the structure. Pieces of potatoes or carrots are used as bait.
- Wooden planks can also act as a trap for centipedes. The boards are laid out along the planting beds. It is recommended to lay the boards on slightly moist soil. In dry and hot weather, centipedes will happily hide under such a wooden shelter, since moisture remains under the boards longer. Collection of centipedes must be done daily several times during the day. Instead of boards, you can use pieces of slate, tiles and flat stones.
- Protect the plantings with wooden shields and stretch plastic film over the shields. From the side of the bed, spread the film with adhesive or oil, and dig trenches under the shields and install trays or jars. Centipedes climbing up the film from the outer side of the partition get stuck in the transition to the inner plane of the shield, which will be treated with glue or oil. Centipedes will not be able to move and will fall into the installed containers under the shield. The height of the shield should not exceed 10 cm.
- Small piles of tops or other vegetation can be laid out along the plantings. Millipedes crawl into such traps to get food or hide from the sun's rays.
Literature
- Zalesskaya N. T.
Key to centipedes-drupes of the USSR (Chilopoda, Lithobiomorpha) / Ed. Gilyarov M. S. - M.: Nauka, 1978. - 212 p. — 1900 copies. - Farzalieva G. Sh. (2004). A new species of drupes of the genus Chinobius (Lithobiidae, Chilopoda) from the Middle Urals // Zool. magazine 2004. - T. 83, No. 10. P. 1280-1283.
- Farzalieva G. Sh., Yesyunin S. L. (2008). Review of centipedes-drupes (Lithobiomorpha, Henicopidae, Lithobiidae) of the fauna of the Urals and the Urals // Zool. magazine 2008. - T. 87, No. 8. - P. 923-947.
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Biological features
Nooks are widespread everywhere. In European latitudes these are small individuals 3-5 cm in length. The most interesting specimens live in eastern Africa in tropical and subtropical zones. Giant African centipedes resemble long black caterpillars with red legs.
Description of African nods
In their natural environment they live in the forest litter, in the surface layers of the soil. They are capable of making tortuous passages in the substrate. They can hide in burrows of rodents, small animals, between stones in tree trunks.
Characteristics of black centipedes:
- The dark shiny or matte color of the body, predominantly black with reddish and orange hues in adults, visually appears striped due to strong segmentation. The color of young individuals is not so rich and is most often gray.
- A pronounced head with antennae. On the sides there are well-developed eyes. The mustache performs the functions of smell and touch.
- Sizes from 3 to 28-30 cm. Sometimes larger individuals are also found. The most gigantic centipede can grow up to 35 cm, with a body diameter of about 6 cm.
- The body consists of many segments. Their number increases as they grow older and varies from 15 to 90. The dorsal, abdominal, and lateral parts of each segment are fused into a single ring. The shell is highly calcified, which provides reliable protection from mechanical stress.
- Each segment has a double pair of legs. The legs are red in color, their number depends on the age of the African nod and can reach 400 pairs, which is why they are also called millipedes.
Features of nutrition and vital activity of black centipedes
Black centipedes feed on fallen leaves and undecomposed organic matter. In case of depletion of food resources, they can leave the top layer of soil, in which they spend most of their lives, and eat fallen fruits, green mass of plants, and roots. If the black nod has switched to a plant, then in most cases this ends in the death of the plant, since the centipede bites the root.
Despite the abundance of legs, giant African centipedes move extremely slowly and clumsily. In case of danger, they curl up and release a liquid that smells like iodine. It contains hydrocyanic acid and chloride compounds. For invertebrate animals this secretion is very dangerous; in humans it causes redness and irritation.
Kivsyaks have practically no natural enemies. According to biologists, the venom of African centipedes was enjoyed only by lemurs. The animals catch the worm-like creature and rub it against their fur, covering themselves with the fragrant liquid. European centipedes do not secrete such a secretion and become prey for toads and frogs.
African centipedes are parasitized by mites. It is widely believed that without these blood-sucking parasites, black hawks quickly die. However, those who keep centipedes at home have refuted the version about symbiont mites. Without parasitic individuals, centipedes live and develop well.
How do weevils reproduce?
In giant African centipedes, sexual maturity occurs at 4-5 years of age. Males differ from females in the metallic luster of their cover, smaller size and the presence of a gonopodium - a reproductive organ located on the 7th segment. Males are very gallant and mating is preceded by a romantic period. Males touch the female with their antennae. When she accepts courtship, she allows the gentleman to climb onto her back. During the embrace, the male transfers a spermatophore - a kind of capsule with seminal fluid. Actually, this is where the mating process ends.
A fertilized female builds a nest in the ground from her own excrement, soil, and plant remains and lays eggs in it. After a few weeks, larvae emerge from them.
