This descriptions sounds like the bugs you are finding are some kind of centipede. These arthropods can have a drab colouration that combines shades of brown and red and have a variety of markings, such as a black line along its back. The size of a centipede can range from just a few millimetres in the smaller lithobimorphs and geophilomorphs to about 30 cm in the largest scolopendromorphs. It is not unusual to find centipedes in bathrooms as they are known for being found in a wide variety of environments. They particularly like warm, damp and dark spaces.
Although their name gives the impression there should be 100 legs, centipedes can have less than 20 or more than 300 legs. They always have an odd number of pairs and can be identified by the pair of venom claws that are formed from a modified first leg. These venom claws, or focipules, are not found in any other athropods and are used to capture prey. This is done by injecting venom into the prey and holding onto them. There are venom glands that run through a tube almost to the tip of each forcipule.
It has been suggested that there are approximately 8,000 species of centipedes worldwide and only 3,000 of these have been officially described. The arthropods can be found all over the world, reaching beyond the Arctic Circle. Centipedes are also not limited to just one terrestrial habitat, they can be found everywhere from deserts to tropical rainforests. Centipedes require a moist micro habitat as they do not have the waxy cuticle that other insects and arachnids have. Because of this they are often found in soil and leaf litter, inside logs and underneath stones and dead wood. Centipedes are among the largest invertebrate predators and can be considered to contribute significantly to the invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.
Although their name gives the impression there should be 100 legs, centipedes can have less than 20 or more than 300 legs. They always have an odd number of pairs and can be identified by the pair of venom claws that are formed from a modified first leg. These venom claws, or focipules, are not found in any other athropods and are used to capture prey. This is done by injecting venom into the prey and holding onto them. There are venom glands that run through a tube almost to the tip of each forcipule.
It has been suggested that there are approximately 8,000 species of centipedes worldwide and only 3,000 of these have been officially described. The arthropods can be found all over the world, reaching beyond the Arctic Circle. Centipedes are also not limited to just one terrestrial habitat, they can be found everywhere from deserts to tropical rainforests. Centipedes require a moist micro habitat as they do not have the waxy cuticle that other insects and arachnids have. Because of this they are often found in soil and leaf litter, inside logs and underneath stones and dead wood. Centipedes are among the largest invertebrate predators and can be considered to contribute significantly to the invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.
