The big one that got away

[Staehilomyces]

Anyone who likes fishing, or knows someone who likes fishing, will have most likely heard several stories of "the big one that got away". Now, I just got back from a pede hunting trip, and found many Cormocephalus, successfully catching a couple. Then, I found an absolutely massive cormo, but sadly failed to catch it. Anyway, should I expect to find the pede in a similar place when I try again? And if you continually fail to catch pedes in a certain location, do they eventually all move on, or are they all there for you next time? Any info would be great.

 

[Mastigoproctus]

So I'll share a story from high school, now me and my stupid buddy Bobbo where a bunch of uneducated destructive teens. We went from man whole to man whole looking for salamanders. Now one day right out side his brothers shop, he found a full 8" BL polymorpha, the biggest I've ever seen. The problem, he'd already kille it with carb cleaner... I put it to a ruler and it hit 9.5" flat, so I now quote it at 8-8.5" TBL. I have seen many 7" Rio Gand Giants since then but no true monsters. Galapoheros once had a real 10" heros or so if I recall correctly, though it was a long time ago. Anyways, sorry for the miss, I know the devistation. Keep on, I've never found another but you can't lose hope. True Giants are out there, but the rarest of the rare.

 

[Staehilomyces]

It's actually a small place I'm looking in - just the rainforest exhibit at our botanical gardens. But there's a pede under nearly every log.

 

[Scoly]

How about setting traps, like the one at the end of this: http://www.field-studies-council.org/darwins-footsteps/documents/Sampling techniques.pdf

 

[Staehilomyces]

How about setting traps, like the one at the end of this: http://www.field-studies-council.org/darwins-footsteps/documents/Sampling techniques.pdf

Definitely an idea worthy of merit, but I'm quite sure someone will notice if I leave these in the botanic gardens.

 

[Scoly]

Not if you have ninja skills!!! But let's not get into what I have gotten away with at my local botanic gardens oh so many years ago, which did not involve centipedes

Can you ask them if you can do a survey or something? Unlikely, but maybe worth an email...

Or you could build traps out of take-away tubs and leave them subtly dotted around, in fact if you invent a box that lets a centipede enter but not leave, you will be a very popular person on here!

Or leave bits of meat under stones?

 

[Staehilomyces]

I'm fifteen, so I think the survey excuse wouldn't be very plausible. As for the rest, baiting seems to be my biggest issue. How effective are pedes at detecting prey from a distance?

 

[Scoly]

Just write them an email and say you want to catch and measure centipedes! You don't have to be an official biologist or anything... Include a detailed plan of where you want to set the traps, the design of the traps, how long you want to place them for etc... And tell them you're 15, hopefully the person who picks it up will find it very difficult to say no and try to help you, but prepare to be ignored or rebutted. Even so it's great practice writing proposals and sending official emails.

I don't know how effective pedes are at detecting prey from a distance but if I lived close to an area where "there's a pede under every log" I'd be thinking about ways I could find out ;-)

 

[Staehilomyces]

True. The botanic gardens have permitted me to collect fungi due to my knowledge of mycology. They might do the same for pedes.

 

[Staehilomyces]

Or I could just sneakily do it. Either way.