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==Description==
==Description==
Silverfish are [[nocturnality|nocturnal]] insects typically 13–30&nbsp;mm (0.5–1&nbsp;in) long.<ref name="VA_Coop">{{cite web|url=http://sites.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/silverfi.html|title=Silverfish factsheet, Department of Entomology|last=Day|first=Eric|date=August 1996| work=Virginia Cooperative Extension|publisher=[[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University]], [[Virginia State University]]|accessdate=2008-12-25}}</ref>
Silverfish are [[nocturnality|nocturnal]] insects typically 13–30&nbsp;mm (0.5–1&nbsp;in) long.<ref name="VA_Coop">{{cite web|url=http://sites.ext.vt.edu/departments/entomology/factsheets/silverfi.html|title=Silverfish factsheet, Department of Entomology|last=Day|first=Eric|date=August 1996| work=Virginia Cooperative Extension|publisher=[[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University]], [[Virginia State University]]|accessdate=2008-12-25}}</ref>
Their abdomens taper at the end, giving them a fish-like appearance.<ref name="CSIRO">{{cite web|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/thysanura.html|title=Thysanura - silverfish|accessdate=2009-11-20|work=[[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]] Entomology|location=Australia}}</ref> The newly hatched are whitish, but develop a greyish hue and metallic shine as they get older.<ref name="AgriLife"/> They have three long [[cercus|cerci]] at the tips of their [[abdomen]]s, one off the end of their body, one facing left, and one facing right. They also have two small [[compound eye]]s, despite other members of [[Thysanura]] being completely eyeless, such as the family [[Nicoletiidae]].<ref name="CSIRO"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/thysanura_families/thysanura_families.html|title=Thysanura Families|work=[[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]] Entomology|location=Australia|accessdate=2009-11-20}}</ref> Mostly know in Minecraft
Their abdomens taper at the end, giving them a fish-like appearance.<ref name="CSIRO">{{cite web|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/thysanura.html|title=Thysanura - silverfish|accessdate=2009-11-20|work=[[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]] Entomology|location=Australia}}</ref> The newly hatched are whitish, but develop a greyish hue and metallic shine as they get older.<ref name="AgriLife"/> They have three long [[cercus|cerci]] at the tips of their [[abdomen]]s, one off the end of their body, one facing left, and one facing right. They also have two small [[compound eye]]s, despite other members of [[Thysanura]] being completely eyeless, such as the family [[Nicoletiidae]].<ref name="CSIRO"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/thysanura_families/thysanura_families.html|title=Thysanura Families|work=[[Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation|CSIRO]] Entomology|location=Australia|accessdate=2009-11-20}}</ref>


Like other species in [[Apterygota]], silverfish are completely wingless.<ref name="CSIRO"/><ref name="Apterygota">{{cite book |author= Hoell, H.V., Doyen, J.T. & Purcell, A.H. |year=1998 |title=Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. |publisher= Oxford University Press |pages= 333–340|isbn= 0-19-510033-6}}</ref> They have long [[antenna (biology)|antennae]], and move in a wiggling motion that resembles the movement of a [[fish]].<ref name="Iowa">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/silverfi.html|title=Silverfish and Firebrats|publisher=[[Iowa State University]]|work=Iowa Insect Information Notes|accessdate=2009-11-26|date=2005-07-14}}</ref> This, coupled with their appearance and silvery scales, influences their common name. Silverfish typically live for two to eight years.<ref name="AgriLife"/> Silverfish are agile runners and can outrun most of their predators (including wandering spiders and centipedes). However such running is only possible on horizontal surfaces, as they lack any additional appendages and, therefore, are not fast enough to climb walls at the same speed. They also fear the light.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infestation.ca/insects/silverfish.html|title=Silverfish - Pest Control Infestation.ca|publisher=}}</ref>
Like other species in [[Apterygota]], silverfish are completely wingless.<ref name="CSIRO"/><ref name="Apterygota">{{cite book |author= Hoell, H.V., Doyen, J.T. & Purcell, A.H. |year=1998 |title=Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. |publisher= Oxford University Press |pages= 333–340|isbn= 0-19-510033-6}}</ref> They have long [[antenna (biology)|antennae]], and move in a wiggling motion that resembles the movement of a [[fish]].<ref name="Iowa">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/silverfi.html|title=Silverfish and Firebrats|publisher=[[Iowa State University]]|work=Iowa Insect Information Notes|accessdate=2009-11-26|date=2005-07-14}}</ref> This, coupled with their appearance and silvery scales, influences their common name. Silverfish typically live for two to eight years.<ref name="AgriLife"/> Silverfish are agile runners and can outrun most of their predators (including wandering spiders and centipedes). However such running is only possible on horizontal surfaces, as they lack any additional appendages and, therefore, are not fast enough to climb walls at the same speed. They also fear the light.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infestation.ca/insects/silverfish.html|title=Silverfish - Pest Control Infestation.ca|publisher=}}</ref>

Revision as of 16:50, 26 April 2015

For other uses, see Silverfish (disambiguation).

Lepisma saccharina
Temporal range: 300–0 Ma Late Carboniferous to Recent[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Subclass:
Apterygota
Order:
Thysanura
Family:
Lepismatidae
Genus:
Lepisma
Species:
L. saccharina
Binomial name
Lepisma saccharina

Lepisma saccharina, commonly known as a silverfish or fishmoth, is a small, wingless insect in the order Thysanura. Its common name derives from the animal's silvery light grey and blue colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements, while the scientific name (L. saccharina) indicates the silverfish's diet of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches.

Description

Silverfish are nocturnal insects typically 13–30 mm (0.5–1 in) long.[2] Their abdomens taper at the end, giving them a fish-like appearance.[3] The newly hatched are whitish, but develop a greyish hue and metallic shine as they get older.[4] They have three long cerci at the tips of their abdomens, one off the end of their body, one facing left, and one facing right. They also have two small compound eyes, despite other members of Thysanura being completely eyeless, such as the family Nicoletiidae.[3][5]

Like other species in Apterygota, silverfish are completely wingless.[3][6] They have long antennae, and move in a wiggling motion that resembles the movement of a fish.[7] This, coupled with their appearance and silvery scales, influences their common name. Silverfish typically live for two to eight years.[4] Silverfish are agile runners and can outrun most of their predators (including wandering spiders and centipedes). However such running is only possible on horizontal surfaces, as they lack any additional appendages and, therefore, are not fast enough to climb walls at the same speed. They also fear the light.[8]

Distribution

Silverfish are a cosmopolitan species, found in Africa, the Americas, Australia, Eurasia, and other parts of the Pacific.[9] They inhabit moist areas, requiring a relative humidity between 75% and 95%.[10] In urban areas, they can be found in attics, basements, bathtubs, sinks, and showers.[4]

Reproduction and life cycle

A silverfish without its silvery scales, which are developed after its third moult

The reproduction of silverfish is preceded by a ritual involving three phases, which may last over half an hour. In the first phase, the male and female stand face to face, their trembling antennae touching, then repeatedly back off and return to this position. In the second phase the male runs away and the female chases him. In the third phase the male and female stand side by side and head-to-tail, with the male vibrating his tail against the female.[11] Finally the male lays a spermatophore, a sperm capsule covered in gossamer, which the female takes into her body via her ovipositor to fertilise the eggs.

The female lays groups of fewer than 60 eggs at once, deposited in small crevices.[12] The eggs are oval-shaped, whitish, about 0.8 millimetres (0.031 in) long,[13] and take between two weeks and two months to hatch. A silverfish usually lays fewer than 100 eggs in her lifetime.[2]

When the nymphs hatch, they are whitish in colour, and look like smaller adults. As they moult, young silverfish develop a greyish appearance and a metallic shine, eventually becoming adults after three months to three years.[12] They may go through 17 to 66 moults in their lifetime, sometimes 30 in a single year, which is much more than usual for an insect. Silverfish are among the few types of insect that continue to moult after reaching adulthood.[14]

Ecology

A book damaged by silverfish

Silverfish consume matter that contains polysaccharides, such as starches and dextrin in adhesives.[4] These include book bindings, carpet, clothing, coffee, dandruff, glue, hair, some paints, paper, photos, plaster, and sugar. Silverfish can also cause damage to tapestries. Other substances they may eat include cotton, dead insects, linen, silk, or even its own exuvia (moulted exoskeleton). During famine, a silverfish may even attack leatherware and synthetic fabrics. Silverfish can live for a year or more without eating.[2][4]

Silverfish are considered household pests, due to their consumption and destruction of property.[2] However, although they are responsible for the contamination of food and other types of damage, they do not transmit disease.[4][15]

Earwigs, house centipedes, and spiders are known to be predators of silverfish.[16][17]

Silverfish are not harmful to humans and their bite is not strong enough to penetrate human skin. In fact, many of the bites attributed to a silverfish are those made by the house centipede, which is commonly found within the same habitat and looks somewhat similar.[18]

Etymology

The scientific name for the species is Lepisma saccharina, due to its tendency to eat starchy foods high in carbohydrates and protein, such as dextrin.[4] However, the insect's more common name comes from the insect's distinctive metallic appearance and fish-like shape.[19] While the scientific name can be traced back to 1758, the common name has been in use since at least 1855.[20][21]

Evolution

Together with jumping bristletails, the predecessors of silverfish are considered the earliest, most primitive insects and one of the first animals. They evolved at the latest in mid-Devonian and possibly as early as late Silurian more than 400 million years ago.[22] Some fossilized arthropod trackways from the Paleozoic Era, known as Stiaria intermedia and often attributed to jumping bristle may have been produced by silverfish.[23]

Similar species

Other similar insect species are known as silverfish. Two other silverfish are common in North America, Ctenolepisma longicaudata and Ctenolepisma quadriseriata.[12] Ctenolepisma urbana is known as the urban silverfish.[9] The Australian species most commonly referred to as silverfish is a different lepismatid, Acrotelsella devriesiana.[3] The firebrat (Thermobia domestica) is like a silverfish but smaller and with darker markings of brown and black.

References

  1. ^ Hoell, H.V., Doyen, J.T. & Purcell, A.H. (1998). Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. p. 320. ISBN 0-19-510033-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d Day, Eric (August 1996). "Silverfish factsheet, Department of Entomology". Virginia Cooperative Extension. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  3. ^ a b c d "Thysanura - silverfish". CSIRO Entomology. Australia. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Jackman (1981). "Silverfish". AgriLife Extension. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  5. ^ "Thysanura Families". CSIRO Entomology. Australia. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  6. ^ Hoell, H.V., Doyen, J.T. & Purcell, A.H. (1998). Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. pp. 333–340. ISBN 0-19-510033-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "Silverfish and Firebrats". Iowa Insect Information Notes. Iowa State University. 2005-07-14. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  8. ^ "Silverfish - Pest Control Infestation.ca".
  9. ^ a b Yates, Julian R. III (December 1992). "Silverfish". University of Hawaii. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  10. ^ Barnes, Jeffrey K. (October 6, 2005). "Silverfish". Arthropod Museum Notes. University of Arkansas. Retrieved 2008-12-25.
  11. ^ Von H. Sturm (1965) Die Paarung beim Silberfischen, Lepisma saccharina. In Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie, Band 13, Heft 1.
  12. ^ a b c Houseman, Richard (August 2007). "Silverfish and Firebrats". University of Missouri Extension. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  13. ^ Koehler, P. G.; Branscome, D.; Oi, F. M. "Booklice and Silverfish". Electronic Data Information Source. University of Florida. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  14. ^ Hubbell, Sue (1993). Broadsides from the Other Orders: A book of bugs. ISBN 0-679-40062-1.
  15. ^ Hahn, Jeffrey; Kells, Stephen A. (2006). "Silverfish and Firebrats". University of Minnesota Extension. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
  16. ^ Jacobs, Steve, Sr. (January 2006). "House Centipedes — Entomology — Penn State University". Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved 2009-11-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Pehling, Dave (November 2007). "Spiders". Washington State University. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  18. ^ "Can a silverfish bite you and what could/does happen if it does?".
  19. ^ "Silverfish". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  20. ^ Linnaeus, Carolus (1758). Systema Naturae. Vol. 1 (10th ed.). p. 608.
  21. ^ Harper, Douglas (November 2001). "Silverfish". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  22. ^ Grimaldi, David Michael S. Engel. Evolution of the Insects. pp. 148–155.
  23. ^ Getty, Patrick (2013). Palaios. 28: 243–258. doi:10.2110/palo.2012.p12-108r. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lepisma saccharina.
Look up silverfish in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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