©2009 Wolfgang Exel Watson ©2009 Helena-Sophia Exel *** You will never guess what people call Me when I tell them that I adore Centipedes. Agreed, their poison has the potential to ruin Your day through redness and infection. Yet, I have only been bit once, 12 years ago in Haiku on Maui. Very, very painful and I got really, really sick. I had sent blood samples to the Institute For Tropical Diseases In Munich and they told Me that I would have anti-bodies for an unknown bug. They didn't know what caused the anti-bodies to be generated. So I thought probably I Am one of them now. Appealing to have some venom to use in case somebody wants to mess with Me. On a more serious pane I can only say that Centipedes excite Me for various reasons. As a 'Hobby' Biologist I find it amazing how old this species is. Centipedes live in the space between Soil and air. This pretty example had made the underside of My Avocado Tree Pot its home. It took a while for it to wake up as I removed the Pot around noon. Reluctantly they move in daylight only to disappear quickly into the layer of life, hidden from our eyes. Herman, as I named this Sleeping Beauty, was very sleepy and I was able to remove all the grass and leafs that obstructed the view from the critter without getting bit or the animal moving. I even made a Movie about how fast this one disappeared. With around 6 Inch it was one of the biggest ones I ever photographed or caught. I Am planning on breeding Centipedes in the Lava. They can Be sold online from $ 100 Dollars up, depending on their Family and origin. One more thing. When I pondered with a friend about why it took humans so long to appear on the stage of Life, We figured it must have been because of the Centipedes that are known to have reached sizes of up to seven feet or more. There would have been 'No place to run, no place to hide...'. Unfavorable climate conditions let the Centipedes evolve into this small but still powerful species. More than once I had a large Centipede in My Hands (Gloves!...). The sheer force this insect has in its body is incomprehensible. It is strong enough to spread apart Your fingers, no matter how hard You close Your hands around it. You look at Your hands and can only wonder how a small insect like this has so much power. Okay, I guess that is quite enough information now. Let Me know If You want one of those. As a pet centipede... ;-)

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