The antennae on a centipede has at least fourteen or more segments. The first set of appendages behind the head are clawlike, and are called poison jaws. These jaws are used to trap and paralyze their prey. Centipedes can easily be found in soil, under bark, rotting wood, and other debris. Small centipedes are harmless to man, but the larger ones can give quite painful bites.
American centipedes can range in size from a few millimeters to just over six inches in length.
Their color varies in species from pale yellow to dark brown. Two families make up the order Lithobiomorpha. The difference between the two families can be determined by using and comparing the eye structures of each. Original enlargement 35 times. The mouth parts are of the piercing-sucking type and are in the form of a slender segmented beak that arises from the front part of the head and usually extends back along the ventral side of the body.