Giant centipedes catch bats in the cave

In the video, the Amazon giant centipede - the largest centipede in the world, crawls to the ceiling of the cave and uses powerful venom to catch bats flying by.

Amazon giant centipede (Scolopendra gigantea) has a body size from 26cm to 30cm and possesses extremely strong venom. These centipedes are voracious eaters and have evolved to become expert bat hunters. In addition to bats, this centipede also hunts insects, lizards, frogs, birds, mice .

But because bats move quickly and are significantly larger, to successfully hunt the giant centipedes Amazon has developed two unique hunting tactics. The first tactic is that the giant centipedes often crawl up the walls and ceiling of the cave to target the perched bats. They even hang themselves from the ceiling of the cave to catch flying bats within reach. Their second tactic is to use the first pair of legs containing powerful venom to pump into their prey.

The team once witnessed a giant centipede S. gigantea use the last 5 pairs of legs to cling to the ceiling of the cave, the first 8 pairs of legs to hold the dead bat and eat it.

Although giant centipedes contain powerful venom that can kill bats, snakes and many other small vertebrates, they are not too dangerous to humans. The sting of this centipede will cause pain, swelling, tissue necrosis and infection but is not life-threatening unless a second sting or anaphylactic shock.

Micah Soto

Update 24 July 2023