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COMMON NAME: SCIENTIFIC NAME: CLASS/ORDER/FAMILY: METAMOPHOSIS: |
Silverfish, bristletail Various Insecta/Thysanura/Lepismatidae No metamorphosis |
INTRODUCTION. All members of the order Thysanura have a teardrop/carrot/fish-shaped body and get their common name of bristletail because of their 3 long, bristlelike or taillike appendages on the posterior/rear end of their body. Silverfish is a common name for species of this group whose bodies are covered with silvery scales. Silverfish are found throughout the United States and the world.
RECOGNITION. Adult body length, not including tails, about 1/2-3/4in (12-19 mm), Wingless with flattened body. Shape teardrop/carrot/fishlike, tapering from head to rear, and generally covered with scales. Color Silvery to gun metal, 1 species with dark lines running length of body. Antennae long, threadlike. Posterior end of abdomen with 3 long, bristlelike appendages (2 cerci, 1 median caudal filament). In addition, compound eyes small, widely separated; ocelli absent; coxae lack styli (fingerlike processes); tarsi 3- or 4-segmented; some abdominal segments with a pair of styli; abdominal sternites (underside of segment) lack median setal combs (tufts of hair) or if present, last abdominal tergite (upper side of segment) longer than wide; abdominal tergites with outer dorsal setal combs (tufts of hair) or if lacking, last abdominal tergite longer than wide.
Immatures similar to adults in appearance, except for size. Scales appear with 3rd or 4th molt.
HABITS. All these silverfish species hide during the day and prefer to hide or rest in tight cracks or crevices. They can be found almost anywhere in a house including living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, attics, basements, and garages. Silverfish infest commercial structures such as offices, stores, and libraries. They tend to roam quite some distance while searching for food, but once they find a satisfactory food source, they remain close to it. Within structures, they can be breeding in a variety of areas, including wall voids, in/under the subflooring, attics, etc. Silverfish can survive for weeks without food or water.
Silverfish (L. saccharina) prefer areas of room temperature (70-85F/21-29C) and high relative humidity (70-100%). They prefer proteins to carbohydrates and are cannibalistic. Silverfish are often introduced into buildings via cardboard cartons of books and papers from an infested location. They are pests of paper, particularly of glazed paper and paper with sizing, wallpaper and wallpaper paste, etc. Silverfish eat proteins such as dried beef and dead or injured of their kind.
The fourlined silverfish is not so limited by temperature and moisture. It may be found throughout a building, in the basement, in wall voids, the attic especially if the roof has wooden shingles, and in the garage. Outdoors, it occurs in the mulch of foundation flower and shrubbery beds, and under the bark of Eucalyptus tees in California.
The gray silverfish can be found throughout a building from basement to attic, but are not found outdoors. Often heat ducts and ventilators from the basement serve as avenues for widespread infestation. They survive well in both dry and moist conditions. Gray silverfish feed on carbohydrates and proteins of both plant and animal origin. They are fond of wheat flour and bee extract, especially when used as a paste on paper. Gray silverfish prefer papers of high chemical pulp content such as onion skin, cleansing tissue, cellophane (almost pure cellulose), etc., as opposed to newsprint, cardboard, and brown wrapping paper. They readily eat artificial silk, linen, rayon, lisle (long-strand cotton), and cotton, but not wools or true/natural silks; linen is most preferred.
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