The Chinese red-headed centipede is a large East Asian centipede, usually 3–6 in (8–15 cm) long and sometimes close to 8 in (20 cm). It is native to East Asia, not the US. Its venom causes intense, burning pain, and dried specimens are a long-standing ingredient in Chinese and Korean traditional medicine.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Red head and first body segment, with a dark greenish-black body. Leg color varies from yellow to orange or red.
Look-alikes
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Damp forest floor
- Rotting logs and leaf litter
- Around houses and farmland
- Range
- East Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan. The species was first described from Japan. It is not native to the US.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly live prey such as insects, spiders, and sometimes small animals like frogs or mice.
- Activity
- It grabs prey with its front legs and stabs it with its venomous fangs (), usually aiming at the head or thorax. When threatened from behind, it raises its spiny last pair of legs.
- Social life
- Unusually tolerant of other centipedes, so several can be kept together in captivity.
Life cycle
- Nest
- The female curls around her eggs and guards them until they hatch.
Cautions
- Cautions
- Bites cause localized burning pain. A venom peptide called RhTx triggers the same pain receptor as hot chili peppers.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Long treated as a subspecies of the Vietnamese centipede (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans). Many scientists now treat it as its own species, though some still keep it under the Vietnamese centipede.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- It is the only centipede officially approved for medical use in China.
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