4-Inch-Long Centipede Pulled From Ear Of Arkansas Teenager

A 4-inch-long centipede was recently removed from an ear of a 14-year-old boy in Arkansas. The boy discovered the bug while trying to determine the cause of his ear pain.

Grant Botti, from the Saline County, said he felt something wriggling in one of his ears, so he decided to try to pull it out. He and his mother, Angela Botti, were shocked to see the 4-inch-long centipede that the boy finally removed from his ear canal.

Angela immediately rushed his son to Saline Memorial Hospital because the boy still felt pain. She placed the centipede in a plastic bag and took it to the hospital as well.

At the hospital, a doctor examined the boy's ear. Abrasions on the eardrum suggested the centipede had caused some damage. However, the boy was treated and soon released.

The mother and son said they don't know how the bug got into the boy's ear. However, Grant went swimming outdoors days before the incident.

Doctors said it was the first time such an incident had happened there.

Centipedes typically have 20 to 100 legs. They live in damp conditions, such as under the rocks, stumps and in backyards. Most are brown or red, while some species have no pigmentation at all.