11 Types of Centipedes in Ohio

11 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in Ohio. The most frequently recorded are House Centipede, Eastern Red Centipede and Brown Centipede. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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11 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in Ohio. The most frequently recorded are House Centipede, Eastern Red Centipede and Brown Centipede. Here is the full list, ranked by how often each is reported on iNaturalist.

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Real sighting data, source iNaturalist

4,452 verified observations on iNaturalist of centipede have been recorded in Ohio, most often in April, May, March.

When centipede are recorded in Ohio

Verified species, source iNaturalist

11 types of centipedes recorded in Ohio

11 centipede species have a verified observation record in Ohio, each with at least 10 confirmed sightings. The full list, ranked by how often each is recorded, is below.

5 of the 11 shown are recorded as introduced to Ohio rather than native.

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    1

    House Centipede

    Scutigera coleoptrata

    1,299 recordsIntroduced
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    2

    Eastern Red Centipede

    Scolopocryptops sexspinosus

    432 records
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    3

    Brown Centipede

    Lithobius forficatus

    417 recordsIntroduced
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    4

    Japanese House Centipede

    Thereuonema tuberculata

    147 recordsIntroduced
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    5

    Eastern Bark Centipede

    Hemiscolopendra marginata

    127 records
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    6

    Diamondback Soil Centipede

    Geophilus vittatus

    30 records
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    7

    Big-leg Centipede

    Theatops posticus

    27 records
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    8

    Common Cryptops

    Cryptops hortensis

    22 recordsIntroduced
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    9

    Strigamia bothriopus

    Strigamia bothriopus

    17 records
  • No openly licensed photo yet
    10

    Common Schendyla

    Schendyla nemorensis

    13 recordsIntroduced
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    11

    Garden Lithobius

    Lithobius melanops

    11 records

Plus 15 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 1,299 verified observations, about 51% of all centipedes reported in Ohio. If you spot a centipede here, it is statistically most likely to be this one.

Ohio also hosts less common centipedes such as Diamondback Soil Centipede, Big-leg Centipede and Common Cryptops, 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 Ohio rather than native, so they arrived with human help rather than on their own.