Found this eastern red centipede coiled around her eggs while I was out looking for millipedes today
Found this eastern red centipede coiled around her eggs while I was out looking for millipedes today
I believe this is Scolopocryptops sexspinosus, the eastern red centipede. Females protect the clutch from predators and mold spores, and some species also protect young after they hatch.
Good find!
I thought it was a pendant at first!
How do they protect the eggs from mold spores by holding them like this? Do they eat the mold as soon as they detect it? Can the mom detect the spores themselves?
I'm not sure if we have a good understanding of how the centipedes detect spores, but they frequently groom the eggs by licking them, which is thought to remove potential fungi and bacteria. It may be that this is a proactive rather than reactive measure.
Cool, interesting! I wonder if it is simply the physical removal of them, or if the saliva of centipedes has bactericidal and fungicidal compounds!
Does the Mom moves around like that or are they just hiding and fasting?(i dont know much about centipede)
Good question! I did a brief search and it appears that they fast for some period of time while the eggs incubate, which is usually around a month. Some species also care for the young after they hatch.