READER’S QUESTION

While digging, i often come across a creepy-crawly which is tan and about 3cm long. When disturbed, it writhes like a snake. is it friend or foe?

Your description matches that of a snake centipede, Stigmatogaster subterranea. Though slow-moving, this is a predator that eats tiny creatures in the soil — so it shows that there are plenty of organisms in the soil. Larger centipedes are also beneficial, but these can bite.