How do centipedes populate?

Answer 1

Rather strangely.

The male deposits a spermatophore on the ground, this is a capsule or a webby mass which contains sperm.

Then the male performs a courtship dance (seriously) to try and attract the female and persuade her to accept his sperm.

Some males, however, can't be bothered with the dance, so they just deposit their spermatophore and walk off.

What happens next, depends on the species.

Female Lithobiomorpha and Scutigeromorpha species will dig a hole and deposit her eggs in the hole, after being in contact with the spermatophore, then buries them. The eggs remain buried until they hatch, then the younglings dig their way to the surface.

Geophilomorpha and Scolopendromorpha species, however, are more on the parental side. The females of these species, once the eggs are fertilised, will either dig a hole or find a piece of rotten wood and deposit her eggs in there. But rather than covering up and leaving them, she stays with them, protecting them from fungi and predators, until they hatch.