Eastern Bark Centipede

Hemiscolopendra marginata · Order: Scolopendromorpha · Family: Scolopendridae

Also called: Florida Blue Centipede, Kentucky Blue Centipede

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Eastern Bark Centipede
Photo: Sam Kieschnick, CC BY

The eastern bark centipede (Hemiscolopendra marginata) is a medium-sized centipede about 4 cm long.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Hemiscolopendra marginata is known as the eastern bark centipede and is a common species in its range.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults grow to about 4 cm in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 20 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Eastern Bark Centipede photo 3
Photo: Sam Kieschnick, CC BY
Eastern Bark Centipede photo 4
Photo: Cole Shoemaker, CC BY
Eastern Bark Centipede photo 5
Photo: John P Friel, CC BY
Eastern Bark Centipede photo 6
Photo: ncb1221, CC BY

Questions people ask

How big does an eastern bark centipede get?

Adults are about 4 cm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Scolopendridae)

Common Desert CentipedeCommon Desert CentipedeScolopendra polymorphaCan biteGiant Desert CentipedeGiant Desert CentipedeScolopendra herosCan biteMediterranean Banded CentipedeMediterranean Banded CentipedeScolopendra cingulataCan biteRed-headed CentipedeRed-headed CentipedeScolopendra morsitansCan bitePacific Giant CentipedePacific Giant CentipedeScolopendra subspinipesVenomousVietnamese CentipedeVietnamese CentipedeScolopendra dehaani

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemiscolopendra_marginata

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.