4 Types of Centipedes in Iowa
4 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in Iowa. The most frequently recorded are House Centipede, Brown Centipede and Japanese House Centipede. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.
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4 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in Iowa. The most frequently recorded are House Centipede, Brown Centipede and Japanese House Centipede. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.
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Real sighting data, source iNaturalist
506 verified observations on iNaturalist of centipede have been recorded in Iowa, most often in April, May, September.
When centipede are recorded in Iowa
Verified species, source iNaturalist
4 types of centipedes recorded in Iowa
4 centipede species have a verified observation record in Iowa, each with at least 10 confirmed sightings. The full list, ranked by how often each is recorded, is below.
3 of the 4 shown are recorded as introduced to Iowa rather than native.
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Plus 6 more recorded only rarely (fewer than 10 verified sightings). Counts from verified iNaturalist observations.
The House Centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) is the most commonly recorded, with 138 verified observations, about 52% of all centipedes reported in Iowa. If you spot a centipede here, it is statistically most likely to be this one.
Iowa also hosts less common centipedes such as Brown Centipede, Japanese House Centipede and Eastern Red Centipede, each recorded fewer than 100 times. These are the species worth a second look when you are out, since a sighting is more notable.
Not every one of these is originally from here. House Centipede, Brown Centipede and Japanese House Centipede are recorded by iNaturalist as introduced in Iowa rather than native, so they arrived with human help rather than on their own.