第 0930 號，共 1 402 號

House centipede

Scutigera coleoptrata

名字的由來： The genus name Scutigera comes from Latin words meaning 'to bear' and 'shield', because of the shape of the plates on its back.1

無害對人無害。不用擔心。

蜈蚣

咬吃：昆蟲

對人的危險: 輕微跟蜜蜂螫差不多或更輕微。對人基本上無害。

The house centipede is a long-legged, yellowish-grey centipede that often shares homes with people. It comes from the Mediterranean region and has spread across much of the world. It is fast, has very long legs, and eats household pests, so it is useful to have around.1

分布在

Native to the Mediterranean region. Now found across much of Europe, Asia, North and South America, and introduced to Australia.1

歐洲, 亞洲, 非洲

首頁

Outdoors, it prefers cool, damp places such as under rocks, woodpiles, bark dust, and piles of leaves or compost. Indoors, it is found mostly in dark or dimly lit areas such as basements and garages, and also in bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms and offices. It often emerges during garden watering, and it is most often seen in spring and autumn.1

長度

2,5 cm 到 3,5 cm (1 in 到 1,4 in)1

最高速度

大約 1,4 km/h（0,87 mph）

在陸地上: 牠的維基百科條目

牠吃什麼？

It eats spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants and other household arthropods. It hunts mostly at night, relying mainly on its antennae, and catches prey by jumping onto it or by using its legs in a 'lassoing' technique.1

House centipede 的照片 — House centipede。照片：Kyle Elshoff。 CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Typically yellowish-grey, with three dark stripes running down the length of its body.1
Up to 15 pairs of long legs, which also have dark stripes.1
Body is typically 25 to 35 mm long. With its legs and antennae, it looks about 75 to 100 mm long.1
Runs very quickly across floors, up walls and along ceilings, and can stop suddenly and stay still.1
Has well-developed eyes, unlike most other centipedes.1

毒液力量

咬

咬的時候，毒液會從毒牙或牙齒出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

It has a mild venom, which it injects through small claw-like structures called forcipules. Its venom is used mainly to subdue prey. In a bite on a person, the effect is limited to mild pain and swelling in the local area, similar to a bee sting.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 輕微跟蜜蜂螫差不多或更輕微。對人基本上無害。

House centipedes pose essentially no threat to people. They are not aggressive and usually flee when disturbed. Stings are rare and usually happen only when the centipede is cornered or handled roughly. Their forcipules have difficulty penetrating human skin. Allergic reactions have been reported but are rare, and nearly all successful bites heal quickly without complications.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When disturbed, it usually runs away quickly, and it can detach any legs that have become trapped.1

如果牠咬人

清洗咬傷處，冷敷或泡在溫水裡止痛，如果情況變糟，要就醫。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠咬了：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

大約跟一根迴紋針一樣長可以在 260 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類需要 9.6 秒）

House centipede 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一隻陸龜 大約 0,3 km/h (0,19 mph)

House centipede 大約 1,4 km/h (0,87 mph)

一個正在走路的人 大約 5 km/h (3,1 mph)

值得知道

小知識

It can detach its own legs if they become trapped, which helps it escape danger.1

It can tell harmful prey from safe prey, and it changes how it feeds depending on the danger. With wasps, it retreats after stinging to let the venom take effect.1

Its tail-like hind legs look like antennae, so when it is at rest it is hard to tell its head end from its tail end.1

Unlike most centipedes, it has well-developed faceted eyes, although it hunts mostly by smell and touch through its antennae.1

Its blood contains proteins that carry oxygen, which is unusual among centipedes.1

It can live its whole life inside a building, usually on the ground floor of homes.1

破解迷思

迷思： House centipedes are dangerous and likely to attack people.

真相： They are not aggressive and usually run away. Their stings are rare and cause only mild, local pain and swelling.1

給毒液專家

學名: Scutigera coleoptrata
類群: 蜈蚣
家人: Scutigeridae2
排序: Scutigeromorpha
各大洲: 歐洲, 亞洲, 非洲
寶寶: They lay eggs in spring. In a laboratory study of 24 females, the average was 63 eggs and the maximum was 151. The young hatch with four pairs of legs and gain more with each moult until they reach 15 pairs.1
壽命: 大約 7 年1
對人的危險: 1 / 5: 輕微3