Silverfish


 * Kingdom: || [|Animalia]  ||
 * Phylum: || [|Arthropoda]  ||
 * Class: || [|Insecta]  ||
 * Order: || [|Thysanura]  ||
 * Family: || [|Lepismatidae]  ||

Habitat: Silverfish mainly prefer moist environments, with a humidity level between 75% and 90%. They also prefer a warm environment with a temperature range of 70 to 80 degrees F. Because of these heat and humidity requirements they are quite often found infesting buildings occupied by people. Generally they prefer to live on lower levels and basements but have been known to travel up into attics.

Morphology: They are silver/brown in color and are usually between a 1/2 and 1 inch in length. They are soft bodied and fairly flat, with 2 long antennae in front of the eyes and three long appendages sticking out of the rear.

Biology: They are chewing insects which feed mainly on protein and carbohydrates like flour, meat, oats, paper or glue. They are extremely hardy creatures and can survive over a year without food. They can undergo metamorphosis (egg to nymph to adult) in roughly 4 to 6 weeks. After reaching the adult stage females lay eggs continuously throughout their lives (over 100). Eggs are laid in small cracks or crevices and hatch after about 3 weeks. Silverfish can survive from 2 to 8 years depending on conditions.

Note: Not to be confused with House Centipedes (shown below), which are often incorrectly referred to as silverfish.

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