October, ’24] 
wymore: garden centipede 
523 
tender white asparagus shoots the animals are almost transparent white, 
while red radishes give a pinkish color; garden beets, a deep red; and 
decayed vegetable matter and so forth, a brownish color. The adults 
vary in length from 2.7 to 6.7 mm., are equipped with 14 chitinous plates 
or scutes on the dorsal body wall, and back of the fourteenth scute is 
located a pair of cerci in the tips of which are found the openings of the 
'two spinning glands; they have one pair of many-jointed antennae, an 
eye-like body just back of each antennae, four pairs of mouth append¬ 
ages; twelve pairs of well developed legs, the first pair four-jointed, all 
the rest five-jointed. At the base of each leg (excepting the first two 
pairs) near the coxal sac is found a small appendage (parapod) which is 
considered by some authors as a rudimentary leg. 
The genital opening is located on the ventral side between the fourth 
pair of legs. The last body segment bears a pair of sensory organs out of 
which projects a long seta or sensory hair several millimeters in length. 
Habitat. As was mentioned above, Scutigerella immaculata until 
1905 was supposed to occur only in isolated regions under leaves, rocks, 
logs, etc. During the last two years the writer has been able to find the 
adults in the soil about the asparagus crowns or in an intensively culti¬ 
vated garden in the Delta region any season of the year. During the 
months of May, June and July, however, the young greatly outnumber 
the adults. 
As the surface soil dries out in the late summer after the cutting 
season (after July first), the little animals migrate downwards always 
keeping in the moist earth. 
Eggs. The eggs of Scutigerella immaculata are laid in clusters of from 
four to twenty, in the runways of the little creatures. The eggs have 
been found in the asparagus fields as early as March second and as late 
as August seventh. They are most numerous during May and June. 
When first laid the eggs are a pearly white and as the time for hatching 
approaches they become a dirty white color. They are 2/5 to mm., in 
diameter and are covered with tiny ridges giving the appearance of a 
network. 
Larvae. When first hatched the larvae are hairy little creatures 
varying from .9 to 1.1 mm., in length, have six pairs of legs, six-jointed 
antennae and nine scutes. As in the adult, the first pair of legs has four 
joints, while all others are five jointed. 
Williams (1907) in his observations of Scutigerella in Ohio found the 
newly hatched larvae to possess seven pairs of legs. There is a possible 
error in his work in that his observations were made about four days 
