CENTIPEDES 55 



phorescent fluids secreted near the coxae of the legs are additional 

 protective devices that render centipedes dangerous and distaste- 

 ful to their enemies. 



With regard to parasites, the carnivorous Chilopoda afford a 

 sharp contrast to the vegetarian Diplopoda since few parasitic 

 Nematoda have been recorded from them although they are some- 

 times infested by Mermithidae. Other parasites that have oc- 

 casionally been found include bacteria and fungi, Protozoa and 

 Nematomorpha (Remy, 1950). Thompson (1939) dissected some 

 300 specimens oi Lithohiiis forficatus and found no parasite other 

 than two species of Tachinid flies. The average parasitism was 

 only 7-5%, and almost half the parasitised centipedes contained 

 more than one larva: in most cases both parasite larvae died. On 

 one occasion however some larvae of the Proctotrupid wasp Crypto- 

 serphtis ater were seen issuing from the body of a Lithobius forfica- 

 tus which had succumbed to their attacks. 



Reproduction and life cycle 



Details of reproduction in centipedes have not often been 

 closely studied, but it appears that many species show a remark- 

 able degree of parental care. In temperate regions, egg-laying 

 usually takes place throughout the spring and summer although 

 copulation may have taken place as long before as the previous 

 autumn. In many of the tropical species there seems to be no 

 regular annual breeding season. The sexes are very similar and can 

 often be distinguished only by microscopic examination. In the 

 Lithobiomorpha and Scutigeromorpha the clasping organs at the 

 posterior end of the body are differently formed in the two sexes, 

 that of the female being used for holding the egg, that of the male 

 presumably for clasping the female. Demange (1956) has recently 

 shown that in Lithobius piceiis the male centipede deposits a 

 spermatophore on a small web and this is afterwards taken up 

 by the female. The young of all the orders leave the egg-shell 

 with the full number of legs with the exception of the Lithobio- 

 morpha and Scutigeromorpha, which hatch with seven pairs of 

 legs including the poison claws. 



The Geophilomorpha and Cryptopidae usually lay 15 to 35 

 eggs in a loose mass which is often merely left in the soil. In the 



