DWalt
Member
The millipedes I have seen are much smaller. I saw them frequently in my basement when I lived in Ohio, don't remember ever seeing any in Texas.
The Centipede
- Thread starter leswad
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LVSteve
Member
You mean the Solfugids as a group. We get them here and they will bite, even though it's not venomous. Oh, and talk about aggressive, one of them held three of my co-worker's cats at bay.
DWalt
Member
The Vinegaroon's main defense is spraying its opponents with an acetic acid-containing fluid which smells like vinegar. Thence the name. They look somewhat like a Scorpion. I have never heard of them stinging or biting, but they do have pincers sort of like a scorpion, and I guess they could pinch with them. I have seen a lot of them around the Devil's River area of west Texas. There was once a small community there called "Vinegaroon Station" in Val Verde County (Del Rio) which no longer exists. For those who are unfamiliar with the Devil's River area between Del Rio and Sonora, I can describe it as most resembling being on the Moon, except a lot hotter. About 90 miles of nothingness, largely uninhabited.
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Watchdog
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What kind of devil creature is this? I cut the head off this cutie pie at noon today; I returned at 11pm, kicked it, and the body just starts crawling around. WTH?
Well, your cutting the head off makes it harder to identify, but since you're in Texas, I'm guessing it was a Texas Redheaded Centipede, Scolopendra heros (if it had a red head). You don't say how big it was, but they can grow from 6-inches to 9-inches. They're known by different names, depending on where they live, but they're all over the southwestern states.
If they bite you, it'll hurt for hours, and may be accompanied by some swelling. I don't believe their bite is fatal to a healthy adult, but I wouldn't want to be the guy who finds out.
vigil617
US Veteran
And I thought the RedHeaded StepChild had a hard way to go in life! Ugh!
Got him!
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Ran into centipedes numerous times in Africa, the 1st encounter a very large one was crawling around under my cot. They are disgusting and I am told their venom is compared to that of a scorpion
Had an encounter with a similar critter when I was in HI; walked into the guest bedroom and there it was. Nasty thing reared up and hissed at me. Fortunately, it stayed put long enough for me to return with the wasp spray. I didn't walk around barefoot for many days after that.
No, they do nothing but eat detritus, live in plant litter. The give of a strong odor if you pick them up or step on one.
Along with the centipedes they are pretty much beneficial
They are prehistoric and more of very distant cousins, not 1st cousins.
