In 2013 we took a Facebook poll asking our fans and followers what the creepiest bug was. The results were nothing like we had expected. As it turns out, the centiped is the most popular choice for creepy critter. That sounds like just as good a reason as any to ‘create’ the centipede in The Underground universe!
The Dreaded Scoleop
To come up with the insect name for the centipede, we butchered the scientific name of the household centipede; Scutigera Coleoptratta (S.Coleoptratta). Measuring a healthy 25mm long, the centipede becomes hard to interact with other characters. When considering our average insect height to be approximately 5.5mm to 6mm, the centipede is an absolute BEAST. So maybe this creature can be an enemy of some sort…
We’ve all seen centipedes darting out across the basement floor, or lurking in the corner of the bathroom, this is why they were voted the creepiest insect. It’s behaviour certainly depicts that of a creature you wouldn’t want to cross paths with, like a fabled Wurm from mideval tales. Just imagine if you were shrunk down to size and met with a giant, snake-like thing with legs…lots and lots of legs. It’s five times your length with a pair of legs adapted to inject you with paralyzing poison. Able to reach speeds of 40mm/second, the centipede is the perfect predator.
How though does the terrifying beast fit into our story? The centipede can be found living in dark, moist places; beneath tree bark, amongst decaying leaves, roots, and piles of wood. This sets us up nicely to hide one of these critters in the Great Birch. This tree stump is the home to both Coryn (ant colony), and the Termite Union. There will be plenty of opportunity for a surprize appearance. The question is…whose side will the centipede serve? They’ve been known to feed on spiders, cockroaches, silverfish, and…ants. That’s sure to spell some level of doom for our heroes!