Centipede?

[Craig223]

I've got a lot of these little wormlike things in my garden. Not worms because they have legs, and not insects because they have a lot more than six legs. So I'm guessing they're centipedes or something related to that. They vary in size, and all or most of them are a kind of pale yellow I suppose.

I have six raised garden beds. In five of them I've seen at most one or two of these critters, and in one I've seen more like 20-30, so I gather they really like something in that bed.

So are these pests that are a threat and I should take action against them, or are they "good guys" that eat pests and so I should be glad when I see them?

 

[Chuck]

I've got a lot of these little wormlike things in my garden. Not worms because they have legs, and not insects because they have a lot more than six legs. So I'm guessing they're centipedes or something related to that. They vary in size, and all or most of them are a kind of pale yellow I suppose.

I have six raised garden beds. In five of them I've seen at most one or two of these critters, and in one I've seen more like 20-30, so I gather they really like something in that bed.

So are these pests that are a threat and I should take action against them, or are they "good guys" that eat pests and so I should be glad when I see them?

View attachment 64149

I believe that to be a millipede and not a centipede. I'm not positive because I cannot magnify the image enough to make sure. Centipedes are predators and eat millipedes and other creatures. A millipede is not all that harmful but it does eat organic materials, in some cases roots. In your case if you found a bunch of them they were probably eating compost or something similar. If you take a closeup picture I can tell you for sure.

 

[Craig223]

Thank you. Millipede sounds plausible. I took several pictures, but this was the best of them. Up closer the others were very blurry. I'll try again.

When I come upon one that's easy to just grab and remove from the garden, on balance am I better off leaving him be or disposing of him (assuming it's a millipede)?

 

[Pepperhead]

I believe that's a centipede. They are poisonous, but small ones like that are nothing to be afraid of. Millipedes have a lot more legs which begin underneath instead of the side. They shoud be beneficial and I would keep them around. I see them around here and let them be on their way. The large ones need to be removed or killed as they are, as I said, poisonous, and can cause harm to people (they are not aggressive). I mean large as in ~4in long or so as a rough estimate. The bigger ones are quite freaky-looking. Image search Millipede and you'll see the difference.

 

[NigelJ]

Difficult to tell from the picture, but millipedes have two pairs of legs per segment and centipedes 1 pair of legs per segment. Centipedes tend to look more chunky and well built than millipedes.

 

[Craig223]

Thank you. I'm going to leave them be for now.

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

I believe this a centipede (Chilopoda, Myriapoda), due both to the length of the antennae in relation to the head and also the spacing of the legs, as it appears that there is only one pair per body segment.