Do you know what Lithobius peregrinus is? Not likely, that anyone knows what it is because it’s not a very common insect. It has no common name because it is very rare. Not many scientists study them because many of them have no idea what they are!

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Lithobius peregrinus is a centipede that usually lives for a long time. They grow up to be around 25mm long! This centipede is dark brown and it has very spiky legs. It has one pair of legs per. segments. It lives for about 6 total years, that’s a very long time for centipedes to live. Most centipedes do not have eyes, but all of them have poor eyesight.

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As I said before, not most people know what this insect it but most people do. People who have seen centipedes mostly have seen them in North America. A lot of people say that they live in gardens, and others say they live in damp soil under rocks. They don’t have an exact population but there is not as much as other insects. So that must connect why not a lot of people know what they are.

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You may wonder what most centipedes eat. Lithobius peregrinus are consumers, they are carnivores, and they prey for their food at night. From their poor eyesight, they prey for food with touch. They use their spiky legs to paralyze their food; examples are worms, spiders, and small vertebrates. It usually doesn’t get eaten unless they leave their home, some big fire ants can eat these centipedes if they are not careful! Hiding under rocks can come in handy sometimes.

 

My insect is very important because without it people and scientists would have one less centipedes to study about, and people like me who have studied them would not be researching about this centipede. This animal is very interesting and I learned many new things about an insect that I didn’t know even existed! Lithobius peregrinus is a very extraordinary insect!

 

Author: Clarissa L.

Published: 02/2010

 

Sources: www.polydesimida.info  www.tandfonline.com  www.europa.eu  www.orkin.com/other/centipedes/

Photo Credit: http://pics.davesgarden.com