9 Kinds of Centipedes & Millipedes Found in Indiana!

Did you see a centipede in Indiana?

Types of centipedes in Indiana

Many people consider these strange creatures to be some sort of mutant worms, but luckily, they’re not. 🙂

In truth, millipedes and centipedes are much more closely related to marine animals like lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp. The biggest difference is that millipedes and centipedes are land dwellers.

Having them around your house is a huge benefit despite their creepy appearance. Centipedes eat silverfish, cockroaches, spiders, and other household insects; millipedes, on the other hand, ingest dead material they encounter, an important step in the food chain that helps keep us fed! They also carry no diseases affecting people, animals, or plants.

9 centipedes and millipedes found in Indiana:


#1. Black and Gold Flat Millipede

  • Apheloria virginiensis
Types of millipedes in Indiana

This millipede is pale yellow on the underside with black body segments fringed in bright yellow. Some morphs have a bright orange-red fringe around the entire body. It also has antennae that are about twice as long as its legs.

Black and Gold Flat Millipedes are about 5 cm (2 in) long. They’re slow-moving and curl up like a potato bug when threatened. You’ll likely find them in your mulch piles or anywhere that organic litter accumulates.

Like other millipedes, this species eats poop, decomposing animals, small insects, mulch, moist wood, and fallen leaves. They are great at keeping your garden from accumulating leaf litter! If you find one indoors, coax it into a container and put it back outside. It’ll be happier there.

The Black and Gold Flat Millipede is generally harmless to humans. However, is does have a cyanide-based defensive poison that can cause skin or eye irritation. If you touch one, wash your hands right away to avoid any itchiness.


#2. Greenhouse Millipede

  • Oxidus gracilis
Common Indiana millipedes

Greenhouse Millipedes are found all over Indiana. They originated in Japan and were carried to the Americas and Eurasia during trading expeditions. They’re around 23mm (1 in) long.

These millipedes are different looking than many of their cousins. They’re largely black or brown on top, with white legs. However, instead of having a round, tubular body of plates that integrate smoothly, they appear rather bumpy.

Greenhouse Millipedes also have an interesting trick. Recall that millipedes are related to lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp, yet there are no water-dwelling millipedes because they lack gills. However, this species can retain a bubble of air around their spiracles and spend an extraordinary amount of time underwater.

Unlike other species, the Greenhouse Millipede doesn’t have eyes, instead relying on its antenna to find food, locate mates, and perform other essential functions. They give off a particularly noxious odor when threatened. They’re poisonous to predators, so very few things consume them. Luckily, they’re not dangerous to humans, provided you don’t eat a handful of them!


#3. Leach’s Millipede

  • Euryurus leachii
Common Indiana centipedes

Leach’s Millipedes are mostly dark brown or even black. They have white legs, orange to red dots on each body segment, and antennae that are roughly twice as long as their legs. The armor plates overhang the body on their side, forming a protective shell around the millipede.

The best place to find a Leach’s Millipede in Indiana is on the ground.

Usually, they live near a water source and spend their time under fallen logs. Leaf litter alone is not attractive to them, so look in spots with branches or trees. Additionally, they avoid pine trees because of the aromatic chemicals that can cause them damage.


#4. Yellow-Legged Millipede

  • Pleuroloma flavipes

Also known as the North American Millipede and the Flat-backed Millipede.

Centipedes of Indiana

Yellow-Legged Millipedes are sometimes called Wandering Cherry Millipedes because they often move en masse with thousands of individuals, looking like a cherry-colored mat undulating its way across the landscape.

The Yellow-Legged Millipede is common in the eastern Indiana.

It can be found in various habitats, including under fallen branches, logs, and trees, but they avoid coniferous trees. Incredibly, they fluoresce brightly under UV light.

This species is a little more adventurous than most millipedes, often venturing into open land and fields. So if there is detritus to be consumed, they’ll be there, recycling our environmental waste and keeping our food chain running.

These are generally a medium reddish brown with yellow stripes running from edge to edge. Naturally, they have bright yellow legs as well.


#5. Brown Centipede

  • Lithobius forficatus
Millipedes of Indiana

Brown Centipedes are 18-30 mm (0.7-1.1 in) long and dark reddish-brown, like a chestnut. They have very long antennae and a matching tail to confuse you as to which end is the front! Of course, the head appears bigger than any single body segment, so you can always tell; the exaggerated size comes from the oversized fangs next to the head. Those fangs deliver a venom that is highly poisonous (if you’re an insect).

Slugs, worms, spiders, and flies make up the bulk of this species’ diet. Its leg count will top out at 15 pairs when fully grown.

Brown Centipedes like to hunt in Indiana at night and hide during the day. If they’re not doing you the courtesy of keeping your home pest free, they may be out in your garden doing the job there instead. They frequent compost heaps where other prey may be found or seek food on tree bark that provides a home to insects. They don’t eat plants, but they do eat things that eat your plants, lending the nickname “Gardener’s Friend.”


#6. Eastern Bark Centipede

  • Hemiscolopendra marginata

The Eastern Bark Centipede grows to 75 mm (3 in) long. They have olive-colored plates with a black fringe and a thin black stripe down their entire length. The legs and antennae are pale, translucent yellow, while the head is brownish red. However, the same species can also be pale to dark blue or greyish-brown. Black, green, or blue fringe surrounds the armor plates.

Interestingly, this species is the only centipede in Indiana known to have sexually dimorphic venom. This means that males and females of the species have different types of toxins, similar to how male and female birds often look wildly different.

Male Eastern Bark Centipedes have venom that interferes with bodily functions. However, venom from females is shown to which break down cell membranes. Either way, you should steer clear of its bite!


#7. Eastern Red Centipede

  • Scolopocryptops sexspinosus

As its name suggests, the Eastern Red Centipede is uniformly red on all its top surfaces. It has light-colored legs. Growing up to 6.5 cm (2.5 in), you might think this centipede is harmless, but they are noted for their painful bite, like some of their larger relatives.

Unlike other centipedes that get along quite well, the Eastern Red Centipede will eat smaller centipedes in Indiana, as well as earthworms, spiders, and insects. It is fast and agile, making it a great hunter.

In their territory, they can be found under just about any moist object, such as wood, stone, bark, or flowerpots. They burrow in loose dirt, chunky bark, or just about any moist forest litter. This is not a species you’re likely to find in your house since it’s much too dry for this creature!


#8. House Centipede

  • Scutigera coleoptrata

This species is the most common centipede in homes in Indiana!

They’re yellow-grey, with three stripes running down their backs. You might consider them racing stripes with how fast they can scoot along!

The legs are thick and powerful near the body but taper toward the ends, contributing greatly to their ability to zip after prey. Their antennae are extraordinarily long to help them sense their next meal. Incredibly, the two “decoy” antennae on their back end aren’t just there to fool predators; they’re actual antennae that function just like the front ones!

House Centipedes may look creepy, but they can be a useful houseguest. Their favorite foods include insects and spiders, but they’re fast enough to catch and eat houseflies and grasshoppers, too. In addition, they like damp environments, which is why basements and garages are so attractive to them.

Outside, you’ll find them in damp spaces that stay cool, such as woodpiles, rocky areas with good hiding places, prey-stalking lookout points, or piles of leaf litter. If you have a compost pile, they’ll be there!


#9. Soil Centipedes

  • Order: Geophilomorpha
Soil Centipedes aren’t a single species in Indiana but a massive family with too many members to mention. Instead, it is more useful to note that leg pairs vary from 27 to 191 (54 to 382 individual legs) depending on the species.

Their coloring can range from white to reddish brown, and they’re slender to aid their movement through the soil. These creatures are a bit flatter than most centipedes. Since they spend most of their time underground, Soil Centipedes have no eyes.

They move through the soil like an earthworm, pushing the front of their body forward and dragging the back towards it before repeating the process. Their goal is to find insect larvae and earthworms to eat, and they use fangs like all centipedes do to capture their prey.

They can range in size from incredibly tiny to monstrously large. The smallest individuals are 1.9 cm (0.75 in), and the largest is 19 cm (7.48 in). Luckily, since they live in soil, you’re unlikely to find this type of centipede inside your home.

Soil Centipedes provide a huge benefit that you might not have thought of – managing soil quality! These bugs digest and release nutrients otherwise trapped in waste for years. Their burrowing also aerates the soil, like earthworms, which allows water, nutrients, and minerals to reach plant roots more effectively. So even though they’re creepy, we should be grateful they exist!



Which of these centipedes have you seen before in Indiana?

 

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*To explore more of the centipedes and millipedes that have been found near you, check out iNaturalist!

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