Vietnamese centipede

Scolopendra subspinipes

Eats: Other bugs and small animals Centipedes and millipedesRainforests and junglesLots of legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Vietnamese centipede is one of the biggest centipedes in the world, usually red or reddish brown with yellow legs. It is a fast, fierce hunter that is always ready to strike. It lives in warm places all around the Indian Ocean and beyond.

Fun fact: this one is not an insect. Insects have six legs, and this cousin has many, many more.

Lives in

Southeast Asia and warm lands around the Indian Ocean, Australia, and Central and South America

Length

20 cm (7.9 in)

usually up to

Top speed

about 3.9 km/h (2.4 mph)

On foot, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Dangerous: look, do not touch

Watch out! Read all about it on Venom Wiki →

What does it eat?

It hunts spiders and scorpions, and it is big enough to catch mice and small lizards too.

Photo of Vietnamese centipede — Picture by Richard N Horne. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

as long as 6 toy building bricks in a rowas long as 1 bananas end to endit has about 42 legscould run across a dinner table in 0.9 seconds

How big is Vietnamese centipede compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

Vietnamese centipede about 3.9 km/h (2.4 mph)

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)

A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

In 2018, one was found in Hawaii that was 36.6 centimetres long, as long as a school ruler and a half.

A mother guards her 50 to 80 eggs and wraps her body around the babies if danger comes near.

It takes three to four years to grow up and can live for ten years or more.

It feels the tiniest vibrations around it, which helps it hunt.

you asked

Most asked questions about Vietnamese centipede

?How big does the Vietnamese centipede get?

Usually up to about 20 centimetres, but one giant from Hawaii was 36.6 centimetres long.

?What does the Vietnamese centipede eat?

Mostly spiders and scorpions, but also mice, small lizards and almost any animal smaller than itself.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Scolopendra subspinipes
Group: Centipedes and millipedes
Family: Scolopendridae
Classification: Chilopoda > Scolopendromorpha > Scolopendridae
Lives on: Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania, South America, North America
Also known as: Black flame centipede, Hawaiian centipede, Jungle centipede, Orange-legged centipede

Where the facts come from

Scolopendra subspinipes (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Richard N Horne. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.