Brown centipede, Lithobius forficatus
Brown centipede, Lithobius forficatus © bramblejungle, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic
The most common and widespread millipede in the UK, this species lives under stones and logs in a wide variety of habitats, from woods to urban gardens.
It is a reddish-brown colour, up to 3cm long, and has venom claws for attacking prey curving round the sides of its head. The poison, although lethal to its prey, is harmless to humans as there is so little of it and the claws are rarely able to pierce our skin.
