# NY centipedes?



## Elleken (Apr 4, 2009)

I live in New York and wanted to know if there were any decent sized species I could collect here. The biggest I've seen is probably around 2 inches so nothing too impressive. I've done searches to see what we may have around here and nothing really turned up.


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## dehaani (Apr 4, 2009)

I heard there were 3 foot long _Scolopendra gigantea_ in the NY sewer system.


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## Elleken (Apr 4, 2009)

Haha, people just couldn't handle em n flushed em down right? Well to be more descriptive I live in central NY no where near the city. Actually out in the country right in the middle of a valley.


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## stevetastic (Apr 4, 2009)

the biggest i have seen have been house centipedes and the long really skinny kind (forget the name of them) that are bright red but biggest of them i have seen has only been like 3 inches. NY isn't the best state for inverts unfortunately


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## Elleken (Apr 4, 2009)

Yea it really isn't. Have some decent spiders but really that's about it. Even then the only ones that interest me are the jumpers haha. I've seen some big millipedes here but they are no where near as interesting as centipedes to me.


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## peterbourbon (Apr 4, 2009)

Hi,

_Scolopendra inaequidens_ is a doubtful species, but still found in New York.
Maybe you can brighten the corners. 

Regards
Turgut


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## Elleken (Apr 4, 2009)

peterbourbon said:


> Hi,
> 
> _Scolopendra inaequidens_ is a doubtful species, but still found in New York.
> Maybe you can brighten the corners.
> ...



I did a search and couldn't find anything on them. Happen to have any pictures or information on them?


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## peterbourbon (Apr 4, 2009)

Hi,

approx. 80% of all existing centipedes-species in the world can't be found with a picture in the internet since there are only a few species established in the hobby . This doesn't mean anything. 

I only wanted to say it's maybe worth to check it out for yourself.

Regards,
Turgut


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## Elleken (Apr 4, 2009)

Well then that makes sense then. Sorry they aren't really anything I've been interested in for too long. Thanks for the help though.


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## Miss Bianca (Apr 4, 2009)

Not sure if you meant collect as in WC basically, 
but defnitely not, either way... 
NY's not the state for that collection thing.. I'd advise to order online... 
unless you mean the annoying little 'house centipedes', 
which can be found in any NY basement... those are so annoying..


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## jettubes (Apr 5, 2009)

tortuga00 said:


> Not sure if you meant collect as in WC basically,
> but defnitely not, either way...
> NY's not the state for that collection thing.. I'd advise to order online...
> unless you mean the annoying little 'house centipedes',
> which can be found in any NY basement... those are so annoying..


mate i dont see how you find these annoying, they are amazing little critters, they hunt pests like roaches and whatever. If you happen to find one again catch it and observe it.


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## dehaani (Apr 5, 2009)

I just wish I could get some of those wee critters


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## pouchedrat (Apr 5, 2009)

Yeah I grew up in central/upstate NY and we only really have those tiny little centipedes, and that one tiny, really thin, but REALLY LONG one (not even sure it's a centipede but it looks similar to one).  

House centipedes scare the living crap out of me, but at the same time are amazing.  I caught one once (I didn't even know they existed until my teenage years, and I was a huge invert lover and nature freak since I was a young girl) and had to handle it to get over my fears.  First time I ever saw one, it ran by really fast in my bedroom and I thought briefly that one of my pet rats got out again.  I reached under the bed and was greeted by a handful of house centipede, so I think that's why they scare me so much. 

That said, I'd love one as a pet someday, but I've only seen them three or four times now in my life.


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## Miss Bianca (Apr 5, 2009)

jettubes said:


> mate i dont see how you find these annoying, they are amazing little critters, they hunt pests like roaches and whatever. If you happen to find one again catch it and observe it.


I've done that. And they _are_ amazing, 
I just find that they can also be annoying, 
I mean to the household. 
I have two family members that live in ground floors. 
In care sheets I've read that they're almost impossible to get rid of. 
(For those that view them as pests of course.)


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## Elleken (Apr 5, 2009)

I've never seen a house centipede. Seen the pictures and everything but never in my house. Maybe I'll check out my basement haha. I have seen those really thin and pretty long ones before as well. Anyone have an idea of what they may be?


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## pouchedrat (Apr 6, 2009)

Geophilomorpha  apparently a soil centipede.  

I wonder if they have larger super long ones than the tiny ones in NY?


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## DawnsDK (Apr 7, 2009)

Ive found blood red ones about 3 inches long...i think i might have pictures somewhere.


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## cacoseraph (Apr 9, 2009)

there are scolopendromorpha, but they are all the smaller blind species


http://www.geocities.com/blight_child/centis/states/cent_NY.html
^ info from Rowland Shelley, digested by me.... any mistakes are mine


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## cacoseraph (Apr 9, 2009)

DawnsDK said:


> Ive found blood red ones about 3 inches long...i think i might have pictures somewhere.




it will be quite easy to get to genus for you


if your guy has 23 leg pairs it is Scolopocryptops


if it has 21 leg pairs and:
 - a much larger/longer terminal body segment it is theatops
 - a normal terminal body segment it is cryptops



after you get genus it is alittle harder to get to species


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## GiantVinegaroon (Apr 15, 2009)

I'm sure _Lithobius_ sp. occurs in NY!  Just flip some old logs and you should find them in large numbers.  They only get about an inch or so, but I have one named Henry and he is REALLY cool.  Almost like a miniature _Scolopendra_!  VERY easy to keep too.


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## Elleken (May 6, 2009)

I finally found some interesting centipedes. They are 2-3 inches long. Much longer than I've seen before and I was very surprised to find them.


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## cacoseraph (May 6, 2009)

right on. if you take some pics we can try to figure out what you have


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## Elleken (May 6, 2009)

Hm maybe I should go do that now. Pictures in a few.


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## Elleken (May 6, 2009)

This guy was injured and I had just noticed. It did however let me take some good pictures due to its sluggishness. It does not look like the normal centipedes I see around here. There were bigger ones out there, but this one was easy to catch. Now I realize why.


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## Miss Bianca (May 7, 2009)

That is definitely NOT what I was saying before I've 
seen in/around ground floor apartments here... that actually looks like a 
miniature of all the huge ones I see here on the boards... where'd you find 
that again?   ..... LOL... nice pede....


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## cacoseraph (May 7, 2009)

it looks like it should have 23 legpairs, which makes it a Scolopocryptops sp.

i guess it looks like NY only has one species in that genus so that makes it Scolopocryptops sexspinosus



and yes, that is indeed a Scolopendromorpha order centipede, just like most of the giant ones shown here


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## Elleken (May 7, 2009)

Funny that I had never seen them before. Even when I did spot them there were definitely not too many around. The smaller ones that only get about an inch or less are far more common.


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## zonbonzovi (May 8, 2009)

You can send them all to me 



Miss Bianca said:


> I've done that. And they _are_ amazing,
> I just find that they can also be annoying,
> I mean to the household.
> I have two family members that live in ground floors.
> ...


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