Where is the best place for breeding golden-headed centipedes in Hubei? The No. 2 Golden-Headed Centipede from Agricultural Science and Technology for the People has seven aspects of living habits. One of the biggest factors affecting centipedes is temperature, because they are ectothermic animals, and all their life activities are closely related to temperature. The most suitable temperature for centipede growth and development is 25℃～32℃. When the temperature is 11℃～15℃, the centipede's food intake decreases, and it stops mating and laying eggs. When the temperature drops below 10℃, the centipede stops all activities, burrows into loose soil (or nest soil), curls up into a ball, and enters hibernation; when the temperature drops below zero degrees, the centipede will freeze to death. However, when the temperature rises to 33℃～35℃, due to the loss of water inside its body, all its activities come to a halt. If the temperature rises above 36℃, excessive water loss will cause the body to dry out and die. Every spring after the Awakening of Insects, centipedes become active again. As the temperature gradually increases, centipedes gradually move to cooler shaded slopes or higher places to be active. In late autumn, they migrate to sunny slopes or warm places to prepare for winter.
Where is the best place for breeding golden-headed centipedes in Hubei? The second factor is humidity. The most suitable air humidity for centipede life and development is 60%～70%, and the humidity of the breeding soil is 10%～20%; generally, the optimal summer humidity of the breeding soil is 22%～25%, and in winter it is 8%～15%, around 20% in spring and autumn.
The third factor is diet. Although centipedes are not large in size, they are carnivorous animals. Centipedes are ferocious and like to prey on various insects and their larvae and eggs, such as crickets, spiders, earthworms, snails, locusts, scarab beetles, rice borer moths, and various fly and bee pupae and eggs. In seasons when there are fewer insects, they also eat juicy fruits like watermelon, cucumber, apple, etc., as well as tender grass and vegetables. In artificial breeding, centipedes are often fed animal by-products.
Before hunting, centipedes will first sway their sensitive antennae to explore and search, because their vision and hearing are poor, and they cannot see clearly from a distance but rather perceive vibrations. Once prey is detected, it will quickly pounce, swiftly clamp the prey with its venomous fangs, inject venom, and embrace the prey with its front few pairs of legs, making it unable to move until the prey is paralyzed by the venom and loses resistance. Then the centipede chooses a soft part of the prey's body, tears it with its mandibles, and slowly eats it. Due to its ferocious nature, during the egg-laying and incubation periods, centipedes should not be fed to prevent them from eating both the food and the eggs. Centipedes have the habit of drinking water, so clean drinking water must be provided in artificial breeding. Drinking water can be placed in shallow dishes for free access, or sprayed onto the mesh decorations in the breeding site for centipedes to drink at will.
The appetite of centipedes is very large, reaching 1/5～3/5 of their body weight.
Fourth, centipedes prefer to live in groups. Although centipedes also have the habit of killing each other, they like to live in groups of different sizes. Centipedes within the same group can get along harmoniously, rarely fighting among themselves. If the habitat is too small and there are too many centipedes, the older ones will automatically leave and find another habitat. Therefore, there is no need to separate them by size during breeding, making management easier.
Fifth, centipedes are timid and afraid of being startled: even slight shock will make them stop feeding, abandon their nests and flee for their lives, or curl up motionless. Female centipedes that are laying eggs will immediately stop laying eggs if startled, and centipedes incubating eggs may abnormally eat their eggs when startled.
Sixth, molting. An important feature of the centipede's body is the chitinous exoskeleton. Its body is supported by the exoskeleton. However, the chitinous exoskeleton does not grow, so every now and then the centipede has to shed its skin once, growing longer each time it sheds. During molting, it starts with the head and ends with the tail, shedding one segment every 4～5 minutes, and the entire process takes about 2～3 hours. A centipede needs to molt 11 times in its lifetime before becoming an adult.
During molting, quietness must be maintained. Being startled will increase the molting time and affect growth, and care should be taken to avoid attacks from natural enemies like ants.
Seventh, centipedes like dark and damp environments but fear standing water. Wild centipedes mostly live in gaps on slopes, fields, and roadsides, or in areas with dense weeds, because of their strong ability to burrow into cracks. Attention should be paid to management to prevent their escape.
Moreover, centipedes fear light. They rest in their nests during the day and come out at night to be active, hunt for food, and mate. The peak activity time for centipedes is between 8 pm and 12 midnight, and they usually return to their nests to rest before 4 am, and it is difficult to see centipedes after dawn. On rainy days or when there is wind above level six, centipedes do not leave their nests to be active.
Hubei Agricultural Science and Technology for the People Centipede Breeding Official Website: http://hm9188.com/index1.asp
Consultation telephone: 027-87672386 87672385 Mr. Yu, QQ online: 1582684012
Address: Room 318, Tianhui Building, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuchang District, Wuhan City