Shoes are a necessary implement of civilization and an indispensable part of the human wardrobe. They come in an incredible array of sizes, shapes, materials and colors.
This vestment has been in use by people since before recorded history, insulating against cold and protecting the human sole from all manner of damaging contrivances which could severely restrict mobility.
A few members of the animal kingdom (other than Homo sapiens) have had shoes applied to their feet for protection in inhospitable environments. Dogs and horses are two excellent examples.
Working dogs in snowy climates get shoes to minimize ice forming between the toes and in the pads on their soles. Horses have shoes nailed to their hooves to protect against splitting.
While the number of feet is double the number people wear, it is not a prohibitive number. Not so if some in the arthropod world found it necessary to have shoes.
Local centipedes are frequently seen in decaying wood. The micro-environment offers an ideal hunting and living habitat for this versatile arthropod.
Centipedes are an excellent example of this (somewhat absurd) concept. Scolopendra viridis, the scientific name for one local species, has dozens of legs and feet.
As the Latin roots of the common name imply, there are 100 feet on this micro-predator. Curiously, math and nature do not agree on this native bug’s appendages count.
Each body segment has a set of two legs and feet, but there are always an odd number of body segments. Mathematically, it becomes impossible for this little bug to have exactly 100 feet or legs.
With an estimated 8,000 family members in this class of arthropods, centipedes are found in many environments around the globe. As proof of its hardiness and adaptability, centipedes are even found in the Arctic Circle and in deserts.
In each of the varied locations, one consistent element is required for the centipede’s survival. This bug must have a damp micro-environment to assure its existence.
Unlike insects and arachnids (spiders), the centipede does not have a protective waxy coating. In a totally dry location, this bug will dry out and die.
The leg and foot count depends on the particular species of centipede and the life phase. Depending on the species, during its early life phase some species have only four legs. At maturity some species have multiple hundreds of feet and legs.
Fossil records indicate a form of centipedes existed 430 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs. Their ability to adapt and overcome environmental challenges has assured they outlived the big lizards by almost countless millennia.
Most centipede species have multiple tools for acquiring meals. Their powerful (for their relative size) jaws can quickly dispatch insects and worms which fall into their grasp.
Additionally, many are equipped with the capacity to inject a disabling toxic venom into their future meals. They also can use the venom for defensive purposes against any offending species, including people. Usually the results are no worse than a bee sting, but some people do have severe reactions.
Lastly, they are fast. All those legs propel them quite effectively and make escape almost impossible for targeted species.
In the Florida panhandle, centipedes are found in leaf litter and under the bark of decaying trees. These micro-environments have two advantages for the multi-legged predator.
First, there are plenty of species which are on this bug’s menu. Second, these areas are usually moist, a critical factor for the centipede’s survival.
Centipedes usually lay 15 to 55 eggs at a time. The eggs hatch soon after, but the offspring may require up to three years to reach maturity.
Luckily, the parents do not have to worry about purchasing shoes for their offspring. If they did, the common name might be the dead-broke bug.
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