2007-12-18 12:10:05 · 3 answers · asked by zorenid r 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Snow Bugs are not. House Centipedes can bite and are only mildly poisonous. It's about the equivalent of a bee sting. They are really useful though because they take care of pests.
2007-12-18 19:35:54 · answer #1 · answered by Reduviidae 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might be possible to extract a bit of venom from them (esp. the centipede) in a lab, but if you are larger than a typical bug, you have nothing to worry about.
Sow bugs can't bite you and probably would not even harm a child if the child were to pick one up and eat it. I've dealt with scads of them in my woodpile at home, for years. Centipedes live there too, preying on the critters, and one tried to bite me as I escorted it out of the house, but its jaws were too weak to break the skin of my finger. If it had succeeded I'm sure I would have felt some irritation for a while, but no real danger. There may be tropical species of centipede that can do more, though.
2007-12-18 14:47:14 · answer #2 · answered by ? 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sow bugs, no. Centipedes, yes, but only mildly so, and I have never to my knowledge been 'bitten', nor has anyone I know. (Centipedes use their modified front pair of legs to deliver the venom, rather than anymouthparts or stingers.) Note that there are some centipedes that are significantly venomous - the larger ones, especially those found in deserts - but house centipedes (the 'furry' ones that zip around in houses) are relatively harmless.
2007-12-18 14:48:09 · answer #3 · answered by John R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋