Bug Inquiry

On Monday we had the visit from a centipede. It crawled into our class, so we had it stay with us for the morning.

Some of the children used a magnifying glass to observe the centipede.  Here are some things they wanted to learn about it.

Mme Maklin: Is it an insect?

Colin: No because it has too many legs. An insect has 6 legs.

Evallie, Antonio, Akki: How big/ long can it get?

A centipede can measure between a few millimeters to 30 centimeters.

Juliet, Kaitlyn: How many legs can it have?

It can have between 20 to 300 legs; one pair (2 legs) per body segment.

Nahisha, Fouad: Why is it so fast?

Giuliana: Because it has lots of legs moving at the same time.

Kaitlyn: Does it have eyes?

A centipede has compound eyes. Some species do not have eyes.

Steven: Is a cheetah slower?

Ava: No, because it has 4 legs it is the fastest animal.

Giuliana:  It can run 100 km/hr.

Ayvah: Does it bite?

It bites its preys to paralyze them with venom.

Faith-Lynn: Why does it have a light coloured tummy?

Centipedes are a combination shades of brown and red.

Jane: Do they climb?

Jane: Yes

When we released our centipede, it climbed onto the wall of the port-a-pack and disappeared through a crack.










Folu: What does it eat?

What centipedes eat is not well known. Laboratory feeding trials support soft-bodied such as earth worms. They have been observed eating reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bats and birds. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede

Savera: Will it have babies? Where will the babies sleep?

The female centipede lays between 10 to 50 eggs. She puts her eggs in a hole, she fills the hole with soil and leaves them.

Preston: What is its habitat?

It lives in the soil and leaf litter (dead plant material).

Mme Maklin: How far can it travel in 30 seconds?

We went outside to release our centipede and measured the distance it would travel in 30 seconds using 100 cm rulers. Our centipede travelled 140 cm however, it stopped when it reached a shadow. We tried to catch it to try again, but it climbed onto the wall of the port-a-pack and disappeared through a crack.