7 Types of Centipedes in West Virginia
7 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in West Virginia. 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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7 types of centipedes have a verified observation record in West Virginia. 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
851 verified observations on iNaturalist of centipede have been recorded in West Virginia, most often in April, October, May.
When centipede are recorded in West Virginia
Verified species, source iNaturalist
7 types of centipedes recorded in West Virginia
7 centipede species have a verified observation record in West Virginia, each with at least 10 confirmed sightings. The full list, ranked by how often each is recorded, is below.
3 of the 7 shown are recorded as introduced to West Virginia rather than native.
- No openly licensed photo yet1
- No openly licensed photo yet2
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Big-leg Centipede
Theatops posticus
24 records - No openly licensed photo yet6
- No openly licensed photo yet7
Strigamia bothriopus
Strigamia bothriopus
11 records
Plus 11 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 206 verified observations, about 45% of all centipedes reported in West Virginia. If you spot a centipede here, it is statistically most likely to be this one.
West Virginia also hosts less common centipedes such as Brown Centipede, Eastern Bark Centipede and Big-leg 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 West Virginia rather than native, so they arrived with human help rather than on their own.