The first of our two creatures is the centipede. This name means 100 legs, but it is just a general term. Not all of the 3000 known centipede varieties have the same number of legs. The most common have only 30 (15 pairs), but large tropical centipedes may have more than 300! Centipedes suggest danger, since their first pairs of legs have poisonous claws used to kill their prey. In the tropics, some large centipedes have dangerous bites; however, most in North America cannot pierce human skin, and their victims are mostly earthworms and small insects.
These long, thin creatures are composed of many segments, each segment having two legs. Most centipedes are born with very few segments, but at each molting new segments and legs are added. They can also regrow legs lost to predators. Active at night, their days are spent hiding underground, under stones or in a piece of rotten wood, and sometimes in dark and moist areas of human homes. They have no protective coating, so they dry out quickly if there isn’t enough moisture around them. Centipedes have either no eyes or very poor vision. In spite of this, they are speedy! Most house centipedes can travel about 16 inches a second!
Centipede mothers are good mothers. Some species lay a mass of eggs and then wrap their bodies around the eggs to protect them from harm until they are safely hatched.
Our second creature is the millipede. This name means “a thousand feet,” but they commonly have only 34 to 400 legs or feet. Not till 2021 was a giant millipede female found in Australia that actually has 1306 legs.
Their bodies are much like the centipedes’ except that each segment has four legs, and most varieties have only 25 to 100 segments. Also, millipedes, without poisonous claws, are harmless. Rather than worms and insects, their food is mostly decaying plants or moist vegetation, which is why so many appear in damp flower beds. They can be a help in recycling decaying organic matter, but they are often a nuisance because they can damage plants.
Our opening verse tells us that under Old Testament law, these and other creeping creatures that couldn’t fly were considered unclean. We are not under those laws, but there is an important lesson in them. God wants us to be able to rise above the sinful world we live in, to “seek those things which are above ... not ... things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-21If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:1‑2)). This is the way of true happiness. You will know this if you do it!
Did You Know?
Centipedes can also regrow legs lost to predators.
Messages of God’s Love 10/27/2024