We recently received two excellent photographs from one of our readers in Kauai, Hawaii. He explained that he discovered the creatures under some leaves. He would like to know what the creatures are and how he can get rid of them.  The first photograph shows a segmented worm-like organism. The creature has a brown body with lots of yellow legs and two long antennae:

We are confident that this creature is a centipede! There are about 25 species of centipedes in Hawaii, and a few of them match the description of the specimen in the photograph. We think it might either be a Vietnamese Centipede (also known as a “Large Centipede” or Scolopendra subpinipes) or Stone Centipede (also known as Lithobiomorpha subpinipes). The Vietnamese Centipede is feared in Hawaii because not only can it grow to be 9 inches long, it also sometimes bites and causes significant pain. The Stone Centipede has similar looks and coloring to the Vietnamese Centipede, but it is significantly smaller, only growing to about 2 inches long. So the size of the creature our reader found will be the biggest hint in determining its species. Let’s take a look at the other photograph our reader sent:

We believe that this specimen is also a centipede. It has an orange segmented body lined with white legs, and two antennae. Unfortunately, we aren’t sure of the species of this creature. So, how can our reader get rid of centipedes? Centipedes in a garden or yard are impossible to entirely get rid of, but our reader can make his yard less appealing towards these creatures by sweeping away leaf litter and clearing away any extra debris that might be serving as a home to these arthropods. If he is able to, he can also consider adopting some chickens because they eat  centipedes! We hope he doesn’t stress too much about saying goodbye to these creatures since they eat other plant-harming insects and are good for the environment!

In conclusion, one of our readers found two creatures under some leaves in Hawaii. We are confident that he has discovered centipedes.

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