House Centipede Scutigera coleoptrata


Scientific Name:  Scutigera coleoptrata (Chilopoda).

English Name:  House Centipede (Centipede).


French Name: La Scutigère véloce (='the swift shield'). Often abbreviated to scutie by French naturalists.

5 Key Characters:  
  • long legged.
  • very fast moving.
  • lives indoors on and in the walls of stone houses.
  • nocturnal.
  • 15 pairs of legs once mature.

Lookalikes:  None.

Habitat:  Interiors of stone houses.


Adult Active Period:  All year.


Status:  Common.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature:

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, with the hindmost pair long and sensory.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. Centipedes are predators.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. Centipedes have poison claws (modified legs) positioned either side of the head, capable of delivering venom to insect prey, but most are not dangerous to man.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. House Centipedes are very long legged and very fast moving.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. House Centipedes live in rocks and walls, often indoors.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. Adults have 15 pairs of legs and hunt household arthropods such as cockroaches and silverfish.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub. House Centipedes are most often seen dashing about houses, running up walls and across ceilings, sometimes pausing to wait for passing prey, usually head down on a wall.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub.

Temporarily trapped in our laundry tub.

In typical inverted sit and wait hunting style on our toilet wall. Positioning themselves head down is the most energy efficient way to wait. Juveniles are miniature versions of the adults, starting with just 4 pairs of legs.

This one is camouflaged against the wooden staircase. Almost invisible, it stayed in this position for at least half an hour, despite people going up and down the stairs several times.

An adult House Centipede, waiting head down on our staircase.






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