Crap. Now I need a pair of centipede boots! For the shower and the leaf litter. Maybe we should buy a ticket and send that thing to Hawaii so it can attack poodles with its cousins.

W@ow! That's an interesting looking one. (A redhead too! Probably named Lucy.)

LOL!

Beauty. I love those. Definitely a point in Austin's favor when I try to figure out where to move.

Oh urbpan!

You like bugs too. You just don't like to be near the stinging kind. But you do like them.

I actually even like some stingers unless they're stinging me or mine, but sneaky slithery biters are far down on my "like" list.

I've never seen them in the city. I've only seen them at in Kerrville which is about 90 miles to the west.

But if you like acoustic music, the Kerrville Folk Festival itself would be a big point in Austin's favor. Cool critters, exciting weather and great music, what more could you ask for?

Another Austin friend of mine found one in her office building downtown!

Very cool. I'm guessing I may have them on my land down by the riverbank.

A friend of mine had one show up in her basement in Chicago. She thought her kids were trying to scare her with a rubber toy, but then it moved. She thinks it might have come in with a new washing machine she'd recently had installed.

Scolopendra heros. Common name "Giant red-headed centipede."

Another good picture is at
http://bugguide.net/node/view/189628
along with more information. Species info is at
http://bugguide.net/node/view/34475

I imagine they do exist in the more wooded parts of Austin, and down along the creeks that have natural areas alongside them, but are probably killed by homeowners whose small children encounter them.

Thanks for the ID. I've labeled the photos with its name and a link to the Bugguide.net page.

Asyouknowbob, I have the taxonomic passion...I like a name for things. Otherwise my mind sort of flies free into a chaotic mass of images.

I have a hard time remembering the names. But I put them on the photos and try to tag the images with something I will remember so I can find them again if I need them.

I like to think that I've gotten a little better. My goal is to be able to tell a bee from a bee mimic by the time I'm eighty.

My goal is to remember which key is which by the time I'm eighty. And where things are in the house.

I think it's a lost cause.

I have two keys. House and car. They're very different so I dont' get confused. I used to have more, but they were stolen, and most were to irrelevant things that I don't need anymore anyway.

I had to look.

Beautiful... but... *shudder*