Living in the rural Algarve brings you into close contact with nature, which normally is wonderful. But sometimes some weird creatures can cross your path, such as this little fellow: the Megarian banded centipede (Scolopendia cinglulata centipede), or in Portuguese: centopéia.Centipede, means 100 feet, which is little overdone. Most of these centipedes have about 40 legs, 2 per body segment. The Megarian banded centipede has alternating bands of black and yellow/gold and it inhabits dark, damp environments. The front segment has a pair of venomous claws to catch and paralyse prey (mostly insects or small lizards). It can be quite aggressive and moves fast. An adult can be as long as 20 centimetres. A centipede can give you a very nasty bite, that can hurt immensely, but the venom is only really dangerous if you are allergic to it. The best thing to do is however to check your slippers and shoes before putting them on, check your bedding before going to sleep and wear closed shoes when walking through the beautiful countryside of the serra.Can you believe that there are even people that want to pay money for a centipede? Apparently there are folk that love these creatures as a pet animal and pay up to 40 Euro for one.
