#four lined silverfish

[onenicebugperday]

@ixwantxtoxlivex89 submitted: No IDs necessary. Just some random friends I've made over the past month or two.

What an excellent group of fine friends. I love them all deeply but especially the tussock moth in the third photo! And the jumper....

[onenicebugperday]

Is this a firebrat or a silverfish it looks like both ? Location: Massachusetts

Mmmmmm looks like a four-lined silverfish to me but tbh they are not at all my area of expertise! But the coloring doesn't look like what you'd see on a common firebrat to me.

[onenicebugperday]

@penniger​ submitted: Pro tip: if you give a silverfish a cheerio, he will stay still long enough to snap some photos 😁

What I assume to be a Four Lined Silverfish

Hello I love this silverfish and WOULD die for them. Nibbling a cheerio??? Too cute, I have to lie down. And yes your assumption is right! Thank you so much for sharing them 🖤

[onenicebugperday]

@fluffydogsquad submitted: Little silverfish I released outside today!

A lil cute friend! I love them. I bet they’re gonna live the happiest silverfish life imaginable..

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Four-Lined Silverfish - Ctenolepisma lineatum

As today’s post will show, my bedroom had another visitor yesterday, and one that hasn’t been seen for several years. Seeing out of the corner of my eye, I though it might have been a house centipede, but it’s fortunately something less sprawling and carnivorous given its large, conspicuous size. This is a giant compared to the Common Silverfish, and with a distinctive shell pattern to observe. While scurrying around, it mostly kept to the shadows covering the wall, avoiding the light, but it wasn’t so quick as to avoid being photographed and captured to be put outside. Normally, Silverfish that roam the outdoors prefer to remain in dark, moist environments, away from light, but the necessity of easily obtainable food and better ambient temperatures can tempt them to venture inside homes. Furthermore, there are plenty of places to hide inside a house, especially with a flattened body. The arrival of this insect is probably an indicator that I’ll need to vacuum my room this weekend and clean the dust behind the bookshelf and drawers. Drawn to dust, scraps and book glue, Silverfish can gorge themselves and be sustained and content in the urban environment. 

If you find Silverfish in your house, there’s no reason to panic. Simply clean up and they’ll disappear...for a while. I mean, dust and dirt gradually builds up, so they won’t be far away. But unlike other insect “pests” of the urban environment such as Roaches or Flies, Silverfish tend to not carry filth or disease with them, generally live a cleaner lifestyle and are harmless to humans. They might be a little unnerving, but they don’t deserve a reputation as “disgusting”. While they can run fast, lacking wings means they have to work harder to evade human methods of removal! Fortunately, the insect has a keen sensory system to help it navigate the environment (and avoid capture). The camera flash which provided powerful light really highlights the depth of this sensory array! Two long antennae and the abdominal sensory filaments are the standouts, but there are additional hairs and spines all along this creature’s body to allow it to detect outside stimuli and threats. There are even microfilaments along the filaments for fine-detail sensory! Paired with heightened vision (this genus of Silverfish sports compound eyes), this insect would likely know you’re in its presence before you’ve even seen it and then sprint away as the light flicks on!

Pictures were taken on August 11, 2022 with a Google Pixel 4.

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Four-Lined Silverfish - Ctenolepisma lineatum

Here we have the first set of pictures of an insect photographed in 2019. Wasn’t expected to find an insect to take photos of so early in the year, let alone an insect like this one! The Silverfish is one of the more primitive insect species along with their cousins, the Firebrat and Bristletails. They are so primitive in fact, that at no point in their history have they evolved wings! Going into specifics, as far as research has taken us, they represent an old branching in the insect tree. An ancestor evolved wings and gave rise to most insect varieties we have today, while these insects have remained relatively unchanged. Wings or no wings they are still insects, and they have the typical body plan of an insect, with the addition of 3 rear appendages: 2 cerci (Earwigs and Crickets have these too) and something called an epiproct (this appendage’s function varies depending on the insect; this one may use it during reproduction). 

I found this one in my room, crawling on the ceiling. Given the body shape, I thought it was in the Silverfish family, but it looks a bit different from one. Common Silverfish can be distinguished by their silvery shine, a more arched front and their wriggly movements. This one definitely isn’t as shiny as a silverfish, but it’s just as flattened as one (picture 3). While it has similar size and patterning as that of a Firebrat, closer examination of the specimen revealed a four-lined pattern adorning its back, confirming this insect’s identification. These insects prefer warm and humid environments to live in comfort, human homes being the top choice, especially in winter. Under normal conditions, this insect would enjoy eating organic wastes in leaf litter and mulch, but while indoors it will probably search for more glamorous foods including: cereals, dandruff, dead insects and even book bindings! Sounds like a life of luxury, but this insect isn’t the only visitor during the winter... and spiders and centipedes patrol the house as well, hungering for fish. If threatened, a Silverfish’s only defense is to run away and tuck in somewhere safe.

Pictures were taken on February 4, 2019 with a Samsung Galaxy S4