A Guide to UK Centipedes: Identification and Habitats

The UK is home to around 50-60 recorded centipede species - all harmless to humans, and all valuable predators of garden and woodland pests. They're often confused with millipedes, but they're a distinct group with their own fascinating biology. This guide covers how to identify the centipedes you're most likely to find in Britain, where they live, and the part they play in the ecosystem.

A few quick facts to start: UK centipedes always have one pair of legs per body segment and an odd number of leg pairs - from 15 in common species like Lithobius forficatus up to over 80 in soil-dwelling geophilomorphs. The species you'll see most often are Lithobius forficatus, Lithobius variegatus and Lithobius microps, typically under stones, logs and leaf litter. And while centipedes do inject venom into their invertebrate prey, bites on humans are extremely rare and no worse than a nettle or wasp sting.

What Are UK Centipedes?

Centipedes are predatory myriapods belonging to the class Chilopoda, with around 50-60 species recognised in Britain and Ireland (the Field Studies Council's identification key covers 57). They play a crucial role in controlling populations of insects, spiders, slugs and other small invertebrates.

Their anatomy is distinctive: a flattened, segmented body, one pair of legs per segment, long antennae for sensing their surroundings, and modified front legs called forcipules that deliver venom to subdue prey. The common centipede Lithobius forficatus shows these features perfectly - orange-brown colouring, 15 pairs of legs, and rapid movement when disturbed.

British species stay small compared with tropical giants. Most measure under 4cm, with the largest UK species, Haplophilus subterraneus, reaching about 7cm.

Centipedes vs Millipedes: How to Tell Them Apart

Many people confuse the two in the garden, but quick field identification is straightforward once you know what to look for.

Centipedes are fast-moving and flattened, with one pair of legs per body segment, long antennae actively waved while hunting, often brown, orange or yellowish colouring, and a habit of darting away rapidly when disturbed.

Millipedes move more slowly and deliberately, have two pairs of legs per obvious segment, shorter antennae held close to the head, tend to curl into a spiral when threatened, and may release defensive secretions. Common UK examples include Polydesmus angustus (the flat-backed millipede, around 2.5cm) and Tachypodoiulus niger (the white-legged snake millipede, up to 6cm). Both are detritivores, not predators - the key behavioural difference from centipedes.

Common UK Centipede Groups and Species

UK centipedes fall into several main groups. Most garden and woodland sightings are lithobiomorph stone centipedes - compact animals with 15 pairs of legs. Geophilomorph soil centipedes are thread-like, pale yellow to orange, with many legs (27 to over 100 pairs), and are usually found deep in soil. Scolopendromorphs such as Cryptops hortensis are eyeless, orange and secretive.

Brown or Common Centipede (Lithobius forficatus)

The most frequently encountered species in UK gardens and woodlands. Growing up to 3cm, it has an orange-brown to chestnut body, 15 pairs of legs, and elongated back legs that look almost like a second pair of antennae. Key identification points are its unbanded legs and the characteristic thorn-like projections on the 9th, 11th and 13th body segments. You'll find it under stones, logs, compost heaps and bark year-round, with peak activity in spring and autumn. As a nocturnal predator it catches insects, worms and woodlice - genuinely beneficial in the garden, where studies suggest a single individual can eat 15-20 small slugs a month. Harmless to humans.

Banded Centipede (Lithobius variegatus)

Similar in size (about 3cm) but distinguished by its ringed legs, with alternating pale and dark segments most obvious on the rear pairs. Its yellow-brown body has a darker central band along the back. This species favours western Britain and coastal areas, thriving under rocks, in dead wood, in stone walls and in damp hedgerows. Like other Lithobius species, it's an active predator and a natural pest controller. Interestingly, it's common in Britain and Ireland but largely absent from most of mainland Europe.

Stone Centipede (Lithobius microps)

At roughly 1cm, this delicate stone centipede often goes unnoticed. It's chestnut brown with paler legs, and definitive identification needs a close look at its ocelli (simple eyes) under a lens. Found particularly in southern and central Britain, it hides beneath stones, bark and rotting wood wherever the soil stays moist, hunting springtails and other tiny soil fauna.

Habitats and Distribution

Centipedes occur across virtually all terrestrial habitats in the UK, from lowland gardens to upland moorland and seashore strandlines, throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

In gardens and urban areas, look under paving slabs, in compost heaps, in sheds and beneath flowerpots - anywhere offering damp, dark refuge. In woodland and farmland, they shelter beneath logs, in leaf litter, under bark and along hedgerows, doing most of their hunting at night. Some species also turn up in coastal habitats on shingle and sea walls, while others reach high altitudes in the Scottish hills and on Snowdon. Decades of citizen-science recording have revealed clear patterns, such as the western distribution bias of L. variegatus.

Behaviour, Diet and Ecological Role

Centipedes are primarily nocturnal predators, relying on their antennae and vibration-sensing rather than eyesight. In UK gardens and woodland they catch small insects, spiders, earthworms, slugs and other invertebrates. Hunting involves rapid bursts of speed, seizing prey with the front legs and injecting venom through the forcipules to paralyse it. Picture a Lithobius forficatus in a compost heap at night: it detects a slug's movement, strikes quickly, subdues it and feeds.

Ecologically, centipedes act as mid-level predators, regulating populations of smaller soil creatures. They're in turn prey for birds like robins and blackbirds, as well as shrews, hedgehogs and toads - a link between the soil food web and Britain's wider wildlife. This is also why they're worth encouraging rather than eliminating: they're free, natural pest control, and chemical slug pellets harm them too, by poisoning the slugs they eat.

Are UK Centipedes Dangerous?

All native British centipedes are harmless to humans and pets - their venom is calibrated for tiny invertebrates, not mammals. Bites are exceptionally rare and usually only happen if an animal is trapped against the skin; when they do occur, the result is brief pain and slight redness, much like a nettle sting. The large, medically significant tropical scolopendrids simply can't establish outdoors in Britain's climate.

If you'd rather not share your bathroom or cellar with them, keep indoor areas dry and well-ventilated, fix leaks, and relocate any individuals outside using a pot and card. And it's well worth avoiding unnecessary pesticides - centipedes help control slugs and other pests naturally.

Recording and Identifying UK Centipedes

Identifying centipedes properly takes patience, a hand lens and reliable field guides. The key references are A. D. Barber's Atlas of the Centipedes of Britain and Ireland (Field Studies Council) and the FSC AIDGAP Key to the Identification of British Centipedes, which covers 57 species. You can submit records via platforms like iRecord, including clear photographs showing body form, leg banding and habitat, and the British Myriapod and Isopod Group (BMIG) coordinates surveys and offers identification support.

If you'd like to have a go, the beginner approach is simple: carefully lift stones and logs, photograph any centipede from above and the side, count the leg pairs if you can, note the colour, banding and habitat, and always replace the stone or log gently afterwards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there any dangerous centipedes in the UK?

No native UK centipede is medically significant. Their venom targets tiny invertebrates, and the rare confirmed human bites cause only brief, mild discomfort. The large tropical scolopendrids don't survive outdoors in Britain's climate.

Why do I find centipedes in my house or bathroom?

They come in from nearby gardens seeking damp, sheltered spots, drawn by moisture and small prey like silverfish. Improving ventilation, fixing leaks and sealing cracks all reduce indoor encounters.

How can I encourage centipedes in a wildlife-friendly garden?

Create undisturbed log piles, stone heaps and leaf-litter corners, keep a moist compost heap, minimise pesticide use, and don't strip away all ground cover - centipedes need humidity and refuges to thrive.

How many legs do UK centipedes really have?

Despite the name, British centipedes always have an odd number of leg pairs - never exactly 100. Common garden Lithobius species have 15 pairs (30 legs), while soil-dwelling geophilomorphs like Haplophilus subterraneus can have 77-83 pairs.

What's the largest centipede in the UK?

Haplophilus subterraneus, a thread-like soil centipede reaching about 7cm with 77-83 pairs of legs. The largest you'll commonly see above ground, though, is the brown centipede (Lithobius forficatus) at up to 3cm.

Can centipedes be kept as pets in the UK?

Native centipedes can be briefly observed in a ventilated container with soil and leaf litter for a school project, then released. Keeping exotic species means secure housing and attention to current UK rules on non-native invertebrates. If you're drawn to keeping soil invertebrates, the gentler, easier-to-keep native woodlice are a great place to start.