Scolopendra is the general name for the labipod centipedes from the scolopendra order. At the moment, about 90 species of these unpleasant creatures are known.
Invisible neighbors
Despite the fact that lately centipedes have been gaining popularity as pets, these creatures are extremely unpleasant for most people.
The sight of the centipede is really scary. It is not an ordinary centipede, but a creature with long legs and a segmented chitinous skeleton.
Centipedes that live in houses and apartments are more correctly called common flycatchers. In a sense, flycatchers are even useful in everyday life - they catch flies, cockroaches, fleas, moths, spiders.
Such centipedes are not too dangerous for humans, they can, rather, scare. An angry flycatcher moves very quickly, and if it hits the skin of a person, it can sting, but this sting is no more dangerous than a bee sting.
In the southern regions, ringed scolopendras are also found, which can reach 10-15 cm in length. These are already much more dangerous guests that can cause unpleasant burns.
If you are not happy with such guests, then first of all you need to get rid of all the cracks in the walls, reduce the humidity, which attracts these creatures, try to better ventilate the room and illuminate it better. Scolopendra themselves can only be caught mechanically. The problem is that their chitinous layer is very strong, so it is not easy to kill a centipede. Better to catch her in a jar and release her as far from home as possible.
Dangerous exotic
The giant centipede can be truly dangerous to humans. In length, this creature can reach 25 cm. Not only the bite of a giant centipede is poisonous, but also a simple touch to the skin of a person. Its body consists of 21-23 segments, it can be conditionally divided into a head and a trunk.
Each of the 36-40 legs of a scolopendra contains poison, so a disturbed creature that has run over a person's skin leaves serious burns.
A person who has had such contact with any tropical scolopendra is guaranteed a strong swelling of the place of contact, fever and a temperature above 38. The tumor can last a week or two, upon contact with the most poisonous specimens, tissue necrosis can begin. There are also known cases when the poison of scolopendra caused paralysis, muscle spasms, vomiting and interruptions in the work of the heart.
There is a scale for the pain of an insect bite, with a bee sting taken as the starting point on the scale. So, contact with scolopendra is about 20 times more painful.
Scientists have already refuted the opinion that a scolopendra bite can be fatal. However, if you come into contact with the poison of this creature, you should immediately consult a doctor.
