16 Centipede Coloring Pages
Centipede means hundred legs, but centipedes do not have exactly 100. Depending on the species, they can have from about 30 to more than 350 legs, and they always have an odd number of leg pairs, one pair on each body segment. They are fast hunters that eat insects and spiders. Millipedes, by contrast, have two pairs of legs per segment and move more slowly. This collection turns centipedes into cheerful climbers. They climb bamboo, a pencil, a rock tower, ladder rungs and a tower of blocks, coil around a stump, twist into a corkscrew spiral and cascade down mushrooms. Others rest on a leaf, stack themselves into loops and crawl up a tower of leaves. A baby centipede completes the set. Real centipedes are often reddish brown, orange or yellow, but cartoon centipedes can be any color. Counting the legs while coloring is good math practice, and coloring each segment separately makes a nice pattern.
Chubby, slim and top down centipedes
The chubby young centipede page has just seven wide segments and a huge head, the easiest start for ages 3 to 5. Cute Centipede Character is a top down view with bold lines and round feet, and Cute Centipede stretches out with about fifteen narrow segments. Centipede on Leaf adds a veined leaf and the smallest legs in the set, still easy for kids around 4 to 7.
Count legs and compare with other bugs
The name centipede means one hundred feet, though real centipedes can have anywhere from about thirty to over three hundred legs. Have kids count the legs on Cute Centipede and Centipede on Leaf, then compare with an insect, which always has six. Talk about how centipedes hide under logs and leaves during the day and hunt tiny bugs at night.
