Are centipedes venomous, and how many legs do they actually have?

The centipede is an arthropod of the family Scolopendridae, with a flat, elongated body. It hides by day and comes out at night, preferring to live in dark, warm, rain-sheltered, well-ventilated places, and it likes to prey on various insects. So, are centipedes venomous? How many legs do they have?

I. Are centipedes venomous?

Centipedes are venomous.

1. The centipede is one of the "five poisons" (centipede, snake, scorpion, gecko, toad). Since it is one of the five poisons, it is naturally venomous. The venomous part is the legs on its head; these legs are hook-shaped, and the tip of the hook has a venom gland opening that can release venom. After being bitten by a centipede, its venom glands secrete a large amount of venom, which is injected under the skin of the bitten person and causes poisoning. The toxin is not strong, causing pain but not death.

2. The centipede is an animal with venom glands, containing two toxic components similar to bee venom, namely histamine-like substances and hemolytic proteins. It also contains fatty oil, cholesterol, formic acid, and so on. δ-hydroxylysine has also been isolated from it, and its amino acids include histidine, arginine, ornithine, lysine, glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine, serine, taurine, and glutamic acid.

3. If bitten by a small centipede, only local redness, swelling, and pain occur; if bitten by a tropical large centipede, it can cause lymphangitis and tissue necrosis; if bitten on the hand by the red-headed, black-bodied, yellow-legged centipede of the Yangtze River basin, the bite site will quickly produce severe pain. Generally, within 2 hours there is severe pain at the elbow joint, within 3 hours at the armpit, and within 4 to 5 hours there is a dull pain in the chest, but it will not be fatal.

4. After being bitten by a centipede, tie a cloth band tightly 2 to 3 cm above the upper end of the injured limb, loosen it for 1 to 2 minutes every 15 minutes, cut open the skin at the injury, suck out the venom with a suction device or cupping jar, and choose potassium permanganate solution or lime water to rinse the wound, or wash the wound with soapy water. Ice can be applied around the wound, and mashed houttuynia or dandelion can also be applied externally. Those with more severe symptoms should go to the hospital for treatment.

5. Although the centipede is venomous, it can itself be used as medicine. It has the effects of calming wind and relieving convulsions, unblocking collaterals and stopping pain, and counteracting toxins and dispersing masses. It is used for infantile convulsions, twitching and spasms, stroke with deviated mouth and eyes, hemiplegia, tetanus, chronic wind-dampness impediment, sores and ulcers, scrofula, and venomous snake bites.

II. How many legs does a centipede have?

A centipede usually has only 21 pairs of walking legs and 1 pair of maxillipeds.

1. The centipede is a large chilopod myriapod, usually with only 21 pairs of walking legs and 1 pair of maxillipeds. Its body is made up of 22 ring-like body segments, each with walking legs. Among them, the two head segments each have 1 pair of antennae and 1 pair of venom claws, and from the second segment onward each body segment has 1 pair of legs.

2. The centipede's close relative, the “money string” (scientific name Scutigera), has 15 pairs of walking legs and 1 pair of maxillipeds; the “stone centipede,” which resembles the centipede in appearance but has a shorter body, has 15 pairs of walking legs; and some centipedes have many short walking legs, with 35 pairs, 45 pairs, and at most 750 pairs.

Summary: Centipedes are venomous, and the venomous part is the legs on their head. After being bitten, they cause pain and may endanger life, so measures should be taken for treatment after a bite; they are large chilopod myriapods, usually with only 21 pairs of walking legs and 1 pair of maxillipeds.