The silverfish ( Lepisma saccharinum) is a species of small, primitive,
Description
The silverfish is a
Nocturnality insect typically long.
[Molero-Baltanás R, Mitchell A, Gaju-Ricart M, Robla J. Worldwide revision of synanthropic silverfish (Insecta: Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) combining morphological and molecular data. J Insect Sci. 2024 May 1;24(3):1. doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieae045. PMID: 38703100; PMCID: PMC11069193.] Its abdomen tapers at the end, giving it a fish-like appearance.
The newly hatched are whitish, but develop a greyish hue and metallic sheen as they get older.
It has two long
Cercus and one terminal filament at the tip of the
abdomen between the cerci. It also has two small
, although other members of
Zygentoma are eyeless, such as the family
Nicoletiidae.
The silverfish, like other species in Apterygota, is wingless.
The silverfish is an agile runner. It avoids light.
Distribution
Silverfish are a cosmopolitan species, found in
Africa, the
Americas,
Australia,
Eurasia, and parts of the
Pacific.
They inhabit moist areas, requiring a relative humidity between 75% and 95%.
In
, they can be found in attics, basements, bathtubs, showers, kitchens, sinks, libraries, and classrooms. They can live in old books.
Reproduction and life cycle
Before silverfish reproduce, they carry out 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 vibrating 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.
[Sturm, Helmut (1956-01-12). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, Band 13, Heft 1. Wiley Online Library (paywall). Access date: 2020-08-26.] Finally, the male lays a
spermatophore, a sperm capsule covered in
Silk, which the female takes into her body via her
ovipositor to fertilize her eggs. The female lays groups of fewer than 60 eggs at once, deposited in small crevices.
The eggs are oval-shaped, whitish, about long,
and take between two weeks and two months to hatch. A silverfish usually lays fewer than 100 eggs in her lifetime.
When the nymphs hatch, they are whitish in colour, and look like smaller adults.
Ecology
Silverfish are able to digest
cellulose (a component of
paper) by themselves, thanks to the
cellulase produced by their midgut.
They consume matter that contains
, such as
and
dextrin in
.
These include book bindings,
carpet,
clothing,
coffee,
dandruff,
glue,
hair, some
,
paper,
, plaster, and
sugar. They will damage wallpaper in order to consume the paste.
Silverfish can also cause damage to
Tapestry. Other substances they may eat include
cotton, dead
,
linen,
silk, leftover crumbs, or even their own
exuviae (
exoskeleton). During famine, a silverfish may even consume
leather and synthetic fabrics. Silverfish can live for a year or more without eating if water is available.
Silverfish are considered household pests, due to their consumption and destruction of property.
The essential oil of the Japanese cedar Cryptomeria japonica has been investigated as a Insect repellent and insecticide against L. saccharinum, with promising results: filter paper impregnated with oil repelled 80% of silverfish at a gas concentration of 0.01 mg/cm, and an exposure of 0.16 mg/cm for 10 hours caused a 100% mortality rate.
Etymology and nomenclature
The scientific name for the species is
Lepisma saccharinum[ Lepisma saccharinum - IRMNG] (originally
saccharina; Linnaeus' 1758 description
here), due to its tendency to eat
foods high in carbohydrates and protein, such as
dextrin.
However, the insect's more common name comes from its distinctive metallic appearance and fish-like shape.
While the scientific name was established by
Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of
Systema Naturae, the common name has been in use since at least 1855.
Most authors have historically treated the nomenclatural gender of
Lepisma as feminine (also as specified in ICZN Direction 71 issued in 1957), but in 2018 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature reversed this decision, issuing a new formal ruling (ICZN Opinion 2427) stating the gender of
Lepisma (and all genera with that ending) is neuter, following ICZN Article 30, which resulted in changes to the spelling of several well-known species, including
Lepisma saccharinum.
Similar species
Other similar insect species are also known as silverfish. Two other silverfish are common in North America,
Ctenolepisma longicaudatum and
Ctenolepisma quadriseriatum.
is known as the urban silverfish.
The Australia species most commonly referred to as silverfish is a different lepismatid, Acrotelsella devriesiana.
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