# House centipede (*Scutigera coleoptrata*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-centipede  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) is a species in the phylum Arthropoda, class Chilopoda, order Scutigeromorpha and family Scutigeridae. It was named by Linnaeus (1758) and is placed in the genus Scutigera. Checklists record it as native in Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Cyprus, France, the United Kingdom and South Africa. The Catalogue of Life lists it as a living species, not extinct.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | 2.5 cm – 3.5 cm |
| Lifespan | 3 years – 7 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Main food | arthropods |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | 6 countries |

## Recorded prey and predators

Recorded prey: Common European earwig (*Forficula auricularia*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 4 countries. Introduced: Belgium, Denmark, South Africa, Sweden. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Chilopoda
- order: Scutigeromorpha
- family: Scutigeridae
- genus: Scutigera
- species: *Scutigera coleoptrata* Linnaeus (1758)

Synonyms: *Cermatia floridana*, *Cermatia floridensis*, *Cermatia livida*, *Cermatia variegata*, *Cryptomera nemura*, *Julus araneoides*, *Scolopendra coleoptrata*, *Scolopendra lineata*, *Scolopendra nigricans*, *Scutigera aranea*, *Scutigera araneoides*, *Scutigera araneoides*, *Scutigera asiaeminoris*, *Scutigera capensis*, *Scutigera coleoptrata crinita*, *Scutigera coleoptrata genuina*, *Scutigera coleoptrata graeca*, *Scutigera coleoptrata insularum*, *Scutigera coleoptrata natalensis*, *Scutigera crinita*, *Scutigera floridana*, *Scutigera forceps*, *Scutigera graeca*, *Scutigera lineata*, *Scutigera livida*, *Scutigera longipes*, *Scutigera mohamedanica*, *Scutigera muscivora*, *Scutigera natalensis*, *Scutigera nemura*, *Scutigera nigricans*, *Scutigera nigrifrons*, *Scutigera pretzmanni*, *Scutigera rubrovittata*, *Scutigera variegata*, *Scutigera vesuviana*, *Selista forceps*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Cyprus, France, South Africa, United Kingdom

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the house centipede?

The house centipede belongs to the phylum Arthropoda, class Chilopoda, order Scutigeromorpha and family Scutigeridae.

### What is the scientific name of the house centipede?

The scientific name of the house centipede is Scutigera coleoptrata, in the genus Scutigera.

### Who named the house centipede and when?

The house centipede was named by Linnaeus (1758).

### Which countries is the house centipede recorded in?

Checklists record the house centipede as native in Azerbaijan, Bermuda, Cyprus, France, the United Kingdom and South Africa.

### Is the house centipede extinct?

No, the house centipede is a living species, not extinct, according to the Catalogue of Life.

### Is the house centipede an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the house centipede as introduced in 4 countries: Belgium, Denmark, South Africa and Sweden, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

### Which animals does the house centipede eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the house centipede include common european earwig. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/house-centipede