Talk:Silverfish

The silverfish on my cat can jump like fleas. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C8:4D83:2C00:C5DA:52FF:341A:C7A6 (talk) 10:39, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

[Untitled]

What exactly is meant by "enemy" in the sentence "The natural enemy of silverfish is an insect known as earwig"? Does this mean that earwigs are a predator of silverfish, that silverfish are a predator of earwigs, or that they have the same sources of food and are therefore rivals? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.233.169.46 (talk • contribs) 12 November 2005

I s'pose that earwigs are predators... But it is definitely wrong that silverfish dislike light. They are not phototactic either, but just do not seem to mind (at least the German breed). -- Sanctacaris —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.65.5.19 (talk • contribs) 21 November 2005

enemy of librarians!

The silverfish is not always completely harmless -- they can ravage a book collection. For this reason they are often called the enemy of librarians... I will try and dig up a source for this. Brassratgirl 01:35, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

comment on "enemy of librarians!"

Silverfish are not only pests in libraries, but also in museums and archives. An integrated pest management approach can be helpful to manage this pest problem. I posted some sources on the IPM page, check them out.

The silverfish page does a great job of describing the insect and its characteristics.

Trumpetsop (talk) 02:19, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Comment in regards to "Enemy of Librarians!"

As the user above stated, Silverfish are not just enemies of librarians. I work in an archaeology lab and Silverfish bugs are found everywhere, especially in one of our storage containers. Between of the Silverfish and rodents, a lot of damage has been done to the preservation of the artifacts.

CelticSky13 (talk) 17:05, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

They can become a pest in damp conditions: libraries, archives, museums, &c need to provide condition in which they do not flourish or kill them off. See also The Enemies of Books which was published in 1888.--Felix Folio Secundus (talk) 06:41, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Bite?

I was bit by a silverfish. There was a sharp pain on my enter arm. I looked down and there it was. I slapped it right there on my arm. The pain was sharp like an ant or bee sting. I know what I was,felt and killed on my arm. Do silverfish bite? One time I was sitting around on the floor and felt a sharp pain like something had bit me. I looked around and all I saw was a silverfish running around on the floor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.250.30.15 (talk • contribs) 7 April 2006

I can't vouch for this, but I'd say that they DON'T bite. A silverfish eats organic debris, so it's unlikely to have recognized you as food. And from what I've seen, this wouldn't be a likely reaction in self-defense either - it would much rather run away as always.

Of course these are speculations. What we need is info on what a silverfish' 'mouth-appendages' look like and if they would be able to break your skin. Assimilateur 21:26, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Umm according to my Biology book, Silverfish can only chew their food, not bite. I forgot what type of mouth-appendages it said they have though. Though from what I've seen of the stupid creature's unpredictable nature, I'd say the freaking thing did bite you. Those things are just the most disgusting freaks of nature in the world... Link's Awakening 05:22, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

I think you got bitten by a centipede, friend. Even if you really did see a silverfish and not a different long-bodied critter, the two are often found together.

Yes, they bite. I was lying in bed reading one evening, and felt a presence on my forearm. Looking down, it was a silverfish, with which I am quite familiar. Curious, I watched it progress toward my elbow for a few inches and then stop, seemingly to reconnoiter. Suddenly ... OW! A distinct and surprisingly painful pinch. I acknowledge that I saw no mandibles; I didn't actually see what took place. It left no perceptible wound or mark. But I felt it without question. Jfiks (talk) 16:01, 22 February 2009 (UTC)

That sounds credible. It probably identified the dried skin on your elbow as a food source. Danceswithzerglings (talk) 19:41, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

I really don't think that silverfishes or any other "creatures" are stupid. Would you like to be called like that, Link's Awakening? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.120.236.22 (talk) 08:59, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

I woke up the other night and killed a silverfish on my stomach. The next morning I had a red patch the size of two half dollars between my belly button and belt line. It was sore for a day, itched for a day and then disappeared. There is a clear "bite" mark on my stomach. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.234.185.30 (talk) 19:40, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

We've had silverfish in the last 3 apartments we've lived in, all nice places. Not sure if they traveled in our stuff, but I exterminate like a mad crazy lady. I hate insects, but would rather have silverfish than any other sort of pest - even ants. Last night I was about to jump into bed when I felt a painful sting on the inside of my thigh. Behold there was a bug on my leg and IT BIT ME! I've never had problems with silverfish biting before and know that they're known to NOT bite, but I think some of these critters have lost their minds and DO bite. I smashed the bug with my phone into the carpet, but most of the bug is still in tact. It looks like a lighter silverfish - it's not a centipede either - seen those, killed those, but my confirmation was the silver streaks on the backside of my phone. Silverfish leave a silver streak behind them. As I cleaned off my phone I can see the silver - almost like faint glitter left behind where I smashed the bug. I clean my phone regularly so it's not from anything else. So it looks like sometimes people DO get bit by silverfish even though people say they don't bite. I watched this stupid thing on my leg bite me. the mark is tiny and red, nothing more. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.248.133.108 (talk) 19:51, 23 September 2013 (UTC)

I was just bitten by a silverfish. I had the misfortune of sitting on one on the floor. It but the back of my leg. The bite was like an ant bite. Stung and itched for a few minutes but there was a tiny dot of blood from the bite. Would love to upload a pic I took of it but don't see an option for that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.97.205.3 (talk) 03:28, 15 August 2016 (UTC)

8-2-17 I'm beginning to wonder if the silverfish in my house haven't somehow cross bred with something ? Or have decided to come out the closet and evolve? I've caught the larvae on my couch ( tanish centipede looking in an s shaped ) these do bite and apparently I'm very allergic to whatever . Diameteuos ? Earth my cure all for anything itchy in my couch and bed!

1-8-2017 I had a silver fish bite my leg it was like an ant bite so they are not innocent. I was sitting on a chair and I noticed that I feel a burning pain on my leg, so I picked up my pants leg up and their it was a silverfish that bite my leg, so I slapped it off and squashed it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.95.232.1 (talk) 16:10, 7 January 2017 (UTC)

SILVERFISH DOES BITE! Put on A fabric belt I haven’t wear for a long time. Suddenly a sharp tick inside my left tight I squeeze it and threw it to the carpet,turned on all the light and put on my glasses to found a Silverfish lying there, to my surprise and shocked unbelievable a Silverfish. I was bitten by a Silverfish I put on some heal aids cream Hope it’s not poisonous Itchy for a few days since. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.17.210.188 (talk) 12:31, 7 January 2019 (UTC)

---

Do silverfish bite? One time I was sitting around on the floor and felt a sharp pain like something had bit me. I looked around and all I saw was a silverfish running around on the floor. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.250.30.15 (talk • contribs) 7 April 2006

I can't vouch for this, but I'd say that they DON'T bite. A silverfish eats organic debris, so it's unlikely to have recognized you as food. And from what I've seen, this wouldn't be a likely reaction in self-defense either - it would much rather run away as always.

Of course these are speculations. What we need is info on what a silverfish' 'mouth-appendages' look like and if they would be able to break your skin. Assimilateur 21:26, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

Umm according to my Biology book, Silverfish can only chew their food, not bite. I forgot what type of mouth-appendages it said they have though. Though from what I've seen of the stupid creature's unpredictable nature, I'd say the freaking thing did bite you. Those things are just the most disgusting freaks of nature in the world... Link's Awakening 05:22, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Found a Silverfish on my foot after experiencing a prolonged sharp pain there. It was hiding under my trousers. Normally these are a silver color but this one had changed to a dark brown. It ran off my foot but I squashed it and that dark color turned out to be my own blood. Examining the wounds, one was small and might be called a bite but the second appeared at first to be a hole - like it had been chewed or as if it had been dissolved. A picture taken of the area revealed a multiple number of smaller 'dissolved' portions of skin (blood visible) covering an area of 3mm X 2mm. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:C5F8:F590:35C7:5F58:DCDF:3B4C (talk) 07:18, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

I think you got bitten by a centipede, friend. Even if you really did see a silverfish and not a different long-bodied critter, the two are often found together.

Silverfish do bite. From experience, it feels like a strong mosquito bite or biting fly. It leaves what starts out as a small bump, like a goosebump when you're cold. It can then grow and turn red depending on how sensitive you are to their bite. I have found that after being bitten, if you don't aggravate the bite by rubbing or scratching, it will usually disappear soon after. Much like a mosquito bite. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.3.185.164 (talk) 14:14, 18 July 2015 (UTC)

I know for a fact that they do cause pain and marks somehow. My daughter (age 9) asked me if they bite and I said no. I've always heard that they were harmless. She was handling a 1 inch silverfish gently and passed it to my 3 year old son. I watched as he held it with an open hand happily, but then it began to crawl up his arm. Then he suddenly yelled "ow! It hurts!" My daughter looked, thinking he was fooling and remarked that it looked as if the thing was holding onto his skin with its legs. Then it died because my son smacked it in reaction to the second sharp pain. There are two tiny but noticeable white raised bumps on his skin where the silverfish last walked before it met it's demise. I washed it with soap and water. It looks like the equivalent of what a sweet ant can do when it feels threatened or thinks you're tasty. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.209.172.159 (talk) 04:54, 29 March 2016 (UTC)

I was in my son's room this evening and felt a sharp small pain like a bug bite. Look down at my arm and there was a silverfish biting me! No where in the Internet can you confirm a bite, but Wikipedia knows better! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kaerobanis (talk • contribs) 07:40, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

Actually, Wikipedia doesn't know one way or the other, which is why a WP:RS needs to be found for the claim that silverfish bite humans. If reliable sources disagree, then Wikipedia should report this disagreement. Reify-tech (talk) 17:47, 16 April 2016 (UTC)

I don't know what "bug" some people call "silverfish". The species Lepisma saccharina is in any case not able to bite a human being. Everything else is a legend (also an alleged size of 1 inch!). -- Fice (talk) 09:45, 17 April 2017 (UTC)

I know I was just bit by one of these little shiny s***s on the right side, on my right thigh, 2 inches above my knee. Not painful, just super noticeable and quick. Definitely annoying, definitely a silverfish. Little bastard was in my bed with me and I guess I almost smushed him so he bit me, apparently my leg was it's last meal, cause I definitely smushed it after it bit me. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:100C:B206:4DBB:29A7:53E1:3A65:B2B3 (talk) 09:23, 19 June 2017 (UTC)

Author: krzysiuuk Date: 12 february 2018

I'm writing this so if someone has a similar situation he'll be able to find out that he was not the first to whom it happened, because I couldn't find any similar stories on the internet and it really bothered me.

I've had an unusual situation, that considered silverfish, recently.

Just 4 days back from the day I'm writing this I've found a silverfish curled into a ball inside my skin, just barely protruding from my skin.

I noticed a weird graphite-like shiny-grey thing in the skin of the inner side of my thigh. At first I thought it was a scab after a pimple or an ulcer (<-idk if it's the right word), but the fact that it resembled a graphite pencil tip so much made me check if I could squeeze it out (it was the first thing that came to my mind back then). I did so and then I put it on a piece of toilet paper. It was clearly a silverfish. I've been struggling fighting them in my house for years.

It was slightly peeping out of my skin when I noticed it. After extraction it didn't show any signs of life, it didn't move at all (what is unlikely for these species). After few minutes of staring at it stupidly, trying to figure out what did I just find in my leg, I simply threw it into the toilet to avoid thinking about these shiny little sons of bitches crawling up my body when I sleep and just told myself it was a ball of pus after a pimple.

Today I finally connected threads and realised what was this creepy ball-looking thing in my thigh, because I've just found a silverfish in a sink and it reminded me of that unusual situation.

Control by Freezing

Please add information about control by freezing -- how long at what temperature to kill adults? This seems like possibly a good way to treat an infested pile of important papers. Is it possible to kill silverfish eggs this way? How long at what temperature? (http://www.midwestfreezedryltd.com/Non_Toxic%20Pest%20Control.htm)69.87.202.29 13:39, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Can the silverfish survive in extreme temperatures like Michigan and Wisconsin during the winter? (Dms99) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dms99 (talk • contribs) 17:25, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

I just saw one climbing up my comforter, flicked it off, and lost sight of it as it landed on the carpet, after I realized how long they can survive without food, I freaked out and came to the realization that I should've dealt with it in a different way!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.211.215.223 (talk) 05:50, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

Squish

When crushed, the silverfish may release a pheromone that can attract others to the location. Sanitizing the area with a light bleach solution should destroy any pheromone present.

Fishlike movements?

The article says that it gets the 'fish' part of its name from its fishlike movements. Having seen many of these insects, I haven't noted such a movement. I rather thought the name came from the fact that the silverfish is scaly. Alpheus 01:12, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

It could be both, but they definitely wriggle like fish. Their bodies are extremely flexible, and in fact you could confuse one for a worm from far away watching it make perfect u-turns.

Resemblance to crustaceans

I was under the impression that silverfish were soft-shelled crustaceans, not insects, and there does appear to be some confusion as to this. My understanding stemmed from a)being told they were, and b) the characteristics they share in common with modern land-based crustacea (such as woodlice). The segmented armour (though I'm not about to suggest they're of the same order as armadillos) and in particular, the gills (I read they have gills) seemed to confirm it. Plus they're prehistoric bottom feeders occupying similar niches with regard to diet. Also, I'm pretty sure I've seen more than one turn red when boiling water is dumped on it. Could have been the scales washing off. Mainly what had me convinced was the articulation of the body - very few insects seem to writhe like that. Yes I am aware crabs don't either...

Perhaps a more knowledgeable peep would address this in a new section? I did notice a few googloid articles on convergent evolution of silverfish and crustaceans. And if anyone does feel like adding it, boiling water is an excellent way to kill off a population that feeds on food starch in and around the kitchen sink. 172.143.144.156 04:17, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

The primary difference between an insect and a crustacean, as far as I'm aware, is the number of legs. Silverfish have six. Crustaceans have ten or more.

Insects and crustaceans are part of the same phylum, Arthropoda (arthropods). Insects are class of the subphylum 'Hexapoda' (six-legged) and crustaceans are in subphylum 'Crustacea'. See Arthropod. Also, according to Crustacean: "[Crustaceans] are distinguished from other groups of arthropods, such as insects, myriapods and chelicerates by the possession of biramous (two-parted) limbs, and by the nauplius form of the larvae." -- 207.171.180.101 (talk) 23:36, 6 July 2010 (UTC)

Vandalism?

Leaving a fingernail clipping (incidentally shaped similarly to silverfish) on the ground appears to ward them off.

Is this a joke?

A long time ago, someone edited House_centipede to include a statement that likened stepping on the detached leg a House Centipede to stepping on a toenail. Considering these two animals are linked to each other in Wikipedia, (since they are often confused for each other) it must have been the same person and is likely vandalism or it's a crazy coincidence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.142.130.28 (talk) 09:11, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Not sure if it was a joke but my Grandma used flakes of ivory soap to get rid of them. Not sure what the logic was or if she even knew herself, but the practice came from somewhere whether it actually worked or not. May have been some old superstition with past generations and could have come from the same basis as leaving finger nails around.

Number of legs?

I saw what I know realize is a "house centipede" in my sink today, and mistakenly thought it was a silverfish, and so did this research. Now, the article points out that the S-fish is an insect. Don't insects necessarily have 6 legs? On the pictures here, it seems to have many apendages... are only six in fact legs? Although it isn't as clear cut a myriapod os the HCs that I now realize infest my house to at least a small degree... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.164.147.147 (talk) 01:50, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Silverfish bugs: [1] have 6 legs, what you probably saw were it's antenna's (or tail portion) but those aren't legs nor do they support movement. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.193.191.5 (talk) 23:47, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Images show other species?

Howdy,

I strongly suspect 3 of the 4 images currently in the article do not show the Lepisma the article is about but rather a Ctenolepisma (possibly C. longicaudata??) - much too "hairy" for my taste. Does the photographer have vesions showing the full length of the antannae/cerci?? Btw, not all images are on Commons ... please look into it. Also, the "bite" passage discussed above is still in the article - my bet on that is "Urban Legend", although some people with (very?) delicate skin seem to be able to get bitten by insects not generally known for biting v_v Cheers. - Pudding 20:34, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

same sources of food and are therefore rivals? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.233.169.46 (talk • contribs) 12 November 2005

I s'pose that earwigs are predators... But it is definitely wrong that silverfish dislike light. They are not phototactic either, but just do not seem to mind (at least the German breed). -- Sanctacaris —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.65.5.19 (talk • contribs) 21 November 2005

I agree: Those two hi-res pictures dont't show L. saccharina. I'd guess it's rather Thermobia domestica, but I'm not completly sure.--91.65.52.241 (talk) 21:31, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Yes, those two images look more like the Firebrat: [2]

MRCAB666 (talk) 11:27, 23 September 2009 (UTC)

Colour and abilities

In the article it is written that the name "silver" comes from the colour of the silverfish. However I rather say it comes from the fact that when pressed on a white paper it leaves silver marks.

One of the abilities I did not see mentioned anywhere is the possibilities for it to climb on vertical walls and on ceilings.

Pretty sure vertical/inverted walking is a common ability for smaller invertebrates (such as ants) and doesn't need to be noted specifically. 97.87.112.28 (talk) 14:43, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Where?

I don't understand why it isn't, apparently, standard practice in zoology articles to indicate the geographical range of the creature. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.229.62.47 (talk) 03:50, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

There now is a Distribution section. —ReadOnlyAccount (talk) 03:44, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Wrong Citation?

{{editsemiprotected}}

In the article it states that in extremes silverfish can survive a year without eating - the reference given does not contain this information anywhere therefore is wrong?

Oggie6969 (talk) 07:30, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for pointing out that the reference didn't match. I did a little research and it turns out that it's true, so I've replaced the reference with another that properly verifies it. Pyrospirit (talk · contribs) 18:15, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Reference #11 has the year transposed: it should be 1956 instead of 1965 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Briesas (talk • contribs) 20:11, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Often misidentified as a silverfish is the house centipede?

The article says "Often misidentified as a silverfish is the house centipede" but this seems unlikely - the article on that creature shows no resemblance! Can anybody support this queer statement? DavidFarmbrough (talk) 22:29, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

can anyone tell us how to exterminate the silverfish? please help, our daughter lives in San Fran has been calling about this issue in her new apartment, the landlord is no help. Marilyn —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.42.166.33 (talk) 00:08, 3 April 2009 (UTC) The silverfish isnt often mistaked with a household centepede. Its commonly mistaken with the firebrat.

Age

How old can a silverfish be?
It feels like that is something one would expect to find in this article.
Brainz (talk) 01:07, 29 April 2009 (UTC)

2 to 8 years old — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.134.90.15 (talk) 23:04, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Predators

The article states that it is rare for spiders to attack and eat silverfish yet provides no evidence to back this up. In my experience I have only ever seen silverfish be attacked twice, by spiders on both occasions, shouldn't we remove the "in rare cases" bracket?

Habitat

LOL. Wikipedia is such Epic Fail. Reading the Habitat section only discusses these insects living in kitchens and bathrooms. Do they not exist in nature at all? Really? --93.106.82.242 (talk) 18:29, 18 July 2009 (UTC)

It's not wiki, there's not much info available from other sources either. Even pest control sites promote different stories. From what I've learned so far there're at least 3 species. In Dutch 'zilvervisje', 'papervisje' and 'overvisje'. A lot of talk I assume is about paperfish. Silverfish eat books to from what I understand, but paperfish is the real culprit. One can reduce the RH and silverfish will disappear. Paperfish, not so. Also, the silver comes from the scales. It looks like dust, but there's still more of the insect if you kill it. And it has six legs. But it has 3 tails and 2 antennas. The paperfish has longer antennas, about the length of its body.

178.228.2.151 (talk) 15:54, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

Gallery

I removed the following non-essential images to avoid clutter; they can be added later if/when the article is expanded:

• File:Silverfish.PNG Caption: Silverfish held in bugbox for scale
• File:JScottKelley.com-090411-151223.jpg Caption: High-resolution photograph showing texture and hair details
• File:JScottKelley.com-090411-151148.jpg Caption: High-resolution photograph with metric ruler for scale

— The Earwig @ 23:29, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Adaptations

What are the things silverfish have or need to live?

how can i kill the Silverfish in my house?

actually i saw some of the silverfish in my new house and now i found holes in my cloths so when i read and research a lot to know what is this i knew that its the silverfish....... so i don't know now what should i do ?? i will put all my cloth to clean again but how can i kill it forever and safety because she is between my cloths..... specially i have my little daughter 4 years old and i am afraid from any side effects on her...... can you please help — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.141.222.2 (talk) 10:21, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

I agree, this article could use a section on pest control. We have a silverfish problem in our house too, and short of totally fumigating the place (which would leave an undesirable residue as well as remnant unhealthy fumes), I am not sure what else to do besides squash them when I see them. But I know for every one I kill, there are probably 100 more lurking in the cracks and crevices. ~Amatulić (talk) 00:28, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Article definitely needs info on pest control. What really works ? Camphor, cloves, etc ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 106.68.250.128 (talk) 08:19, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

Diatomaceous earth kills silverfish, bed bugs, and a few more floor crawling pests. Non toxic, can use on floors around baseboards and edges of your bed. Nooks and corners. Anywhere they may hide or enter your house. Some people use it on their skin or mix it in a liquid and drink it for many different reasons. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 160.3.185.164 (talk) 14:51, 18 July 2015 (UTC)

External link to book sales page??

The link to 'diypestcontrol dot org home-pest-control' goes to a page which is blatantly flogging some e-book on how to get rid of Silverfish. Third party advertising on Wikipedia... really? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.140.122.123 (talk) 19:03, 8 June 2012 (UTC) Of course you had to list the link here in full to keep the search engines pointing to it! Disingenuous spam reference mangled/removed.

Distribution

The article says: Silverfish are a cosmopolitan species, found in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia, and other parts of the Pacific.[8] So that may be all that there are good enough sources for. But I can assure you that silverfish are found in Scandinavia. I've never seen one as long as 1 inch, though.

Googling 'silverfish in europe' gives lots of sources, but many of them may not be reliable enough. Cheers, Hordaland (talk) 02:32, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

commonly mistaken as a firebrat not centepede

Both of the same family, a firebrat is around the same size as the silverfish, and instead of the shiny silver they are shiny grey or brown. Silverfish and firebrats do not bite, they scratch, and it is very highly possible that this is what people have been feeling. Not only that, they prefer dry foods, such as flour or even dogfood. They do however eat paper such as bookspines and areas with dried glue. Not to add, their eggs can go dormant for up to 6 weeks or more in extreme cold weather, so ridding of the eggs by cold is pointless. It takes 14 days for a firebrat to hatch, which like really warm areas, so most common place to find them would be in an area such as a boiler room or another real warm room. A silverfish takes 19 to 32 days to hatch, and Firebrats live two years, silverfish 3 years, not 2 to 8 years. All contributions go to UCIPC which deal with pest control as that is where i got my information. Casylia (talk) 00:33, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

Wall climbing

Regarding this claim in the article:

"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."

It isn't cited, and it strikes me as unlikely to be true. They may not climb vertically as quickly as they can run horizontally, but I don't think that's because they don't have enough "appendage"s. Consider the gecko - it has fewer appendages than a silverfish and can run inverted on the ceiling.

I didn't want to just delete this without first putting up a dubious tag, as I know precious little about etymology, so if it turns out to be true maybe someone can come along and cite it.

I mean I saw one climb my bedroom wall. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.23.79.31 (talk) 10:10, 16 July 2016 (UTC)

Spiral5800 (talk) 00:15, 28 April 2016 (UTC)

I agree, silverfish can run on a vertical wall, at least if it is not too slick. For example, the specimen on the first photo in the article was sitting (and running) on a room wall. -- Fice (talk) 23:49, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Length

"Silverfish are nocturnal insects typically 13–25 mm (0.5–1.0 in) long." I suspect that the antennas and cerci were included with this size. The body only is typically ~10 mm long (or less)! -- Fice (talk) 23:49, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Silverfish

Do silverfish bite and if so are they poisonous???--Kittycat22 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 11:18, 17 April 2017 (UTC)

Silverfish bite. A lot.It hurts. A lot. They bite my dogs too. A lot. Eat my books, clothes too. A lot. Ow. I hate silverfish. Whomever tells you they dont nite? They lie. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.192.93.54 (talk) 09:18, 5 September 2018 (UTC)

Article title and scope is ambiguous

At the present time, this article entitled "Silverfish" is exclusively about one species of silverfish, the common silverfish, however the name is also used more widely for a grouping of genera and species sharing the same characters (e.g. see Smith, 2017: "The Australian silverfish fauna (Order: Zygentoma) abundant, diverse, ancient and largely ignored", which lists 70 species in 23 genera, in Australia alone). If we accept that most/all the present article text concerns the single species Lepisma saccharinum, with relevant taxonbox etc., one solution would be to rename (move) this article to a new location "Common silverfish", and create a replacement at this location dealing with (the insect) silverfish sensu lato, including the common silverfish, its parallel (but different) equivalent in Australia (Acrotelsella devriesiana), the giant or long-tailed silverfish (Ctenolepisma longicaudata), the urban silverfish, and any others deserving attention. Thoughts? Tony 1212 (talk) 06:31, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Another reference: Wygodzinsky, P. (1972). A Review of the Silverfish (Lepismatidae, Thysanura) of the United States and the Caribbean Area. American Museum novitates; no. 2481. - has 13 species found in the United States.Tony 1212 (talk) 07:09, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Seeing as L. saccharina is really the species in the family to which that common name is usually applied (the only other with a frequent common name appears to be the firebrat), I think we are good as is. In fact, the genus article Lepisma could probably be merged here. --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 22:36, 15 September 2020 (UTC)

I don't like the status quo, myself, but also don't see a very easy fix for the core problem, namely that there are over 300 articles that link to Silverfish, and some of those 300 refer to just one species, and at the other extreme, some of those 300 refer to the entirety of Zygentoma. THE silverfish Lepisma saccharinum is one of those long-standing historical cultural idiosyncrasies, where a single prominent species familiar to Europeans has been elevated through the vernacular to represent that particular group of insects as if it were the ONLY member of that group. If you follow the history of various Wikipedia articles, similar - and sometimes extremely vehement - arguments have taken place as to how to treat articles for THE wasp, THE hornet, THE praying mantis, etc., because many Europeans historically use those names for single species, even though the global lay community, as well as scientists, uses those names to refer to much larger assemblages of species. Realistically, if there were to be any page merges or redirects, then "silverfish" should either redirect to Zygentoma, or become the new header for the Zygentoma article. The problem, again, is that someone would have to (1) parse out the existing silverfish article so that species-specific content stayed with the species, and (2) go in manually and check all 300+ links to "silverfish" and decide individually which of them should be changed to point to Lepisma saccharinum instead. Another alternative used in some of these disputed cases can be seen in the article Bed bug, which is explicitly not a single taxonomic entity, so the article doesn't even have a taxobox (in other words, SPLIT the silverfish article so Lepisma saccharinum gets its own page, and remove the taxobox from the main article). Other articles like Paper wasp or Tarantula hawk or Yellowjacket give examples where a common name encompasses multiple taxa, though in this case - and speaking as an entomologist - it really is fairly common for entomologists to call any member of Zygentoma a "silverfish", so I don't think this sort of "have a separate article for the common name" approach is necessary, but it is still an alternative to consider. Not sure of a good way to solicit opinions regarding whether to change things, ultimately, or if so, HOW to change things. Dyanega (talk) 16:26, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

OK, I have tried to accommodate the present structure but improve the navigation and general sense as follows:

• Add another term to the disambiguation notice at the head of this page, thus:

This article is about the commonest insect species referred to by this name, Lepisma saccharinum. For the larger group of insects included under this name, see Zygentoma. For other uses, see Silverfish (disambiguation)

• Expanded the leading paragraph on the "Silverfish (disambiguation)" page

This addresses my strongest concerns without upsetting the present page structure - hope it suits the needs of others. Regards - Tony Tony 1212 (talk) 19:12, 16 September 2020 (UTC)

What does 'primitive' mean in the first sentence?

The silverfish (Lepisma saccharinum) is a species of small, primitive, wingless insect in the order Zygentoma (formerly Thysanura).

Is 'primitive' a technical term in this context? 2600:4040:11F7:CC00:2436:D6F5:3E1:FEB7 (talk) 15:16, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

See Primitive_(phylogenetics). Dyanega (talk) 17:06, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

I have added [[]]s for that in the article. Invasive Spices (talk) 21 December 2022 (UTC)

caption to the first image reads "lower saxony, germany" both with functional links to the respective articles, however the picture is as one might expect, does not show lower saxony or any lower saxons, but rather a silverfish. seems a tad confusing

i was confused at least 47.6.39.45 (talk) 06:35, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

I agree - the implication is that the origin is in any way important (no, for a cosmopolitan species) or informative (also no - no entomologist would be able to determine origin from visuals in this species). Removed. --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 14:47, 23 February 2024 (UTC)

Lifespan

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding, but does the article not give two different answers on the lifespan of a silverfish? "Silverfish typically live for up to three years." "with an estimated lifespan of around 2 to 8 years." 109.240.35.85 (talk) 18:34, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

These descriptions do not conflict. They could both be true. The estimated lifespan may well be from two to as many as eight years, while at the same time the little critters typically live for only up to three years.

Similarly, you could say that humans have an estimated lifespan of around 60 to 120 years, while at the same time the big bollixes typically live for only up to 80 years. —ReadOnlyAccount (talk) 03:38, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Image of different species?

The Silverfish head close-up currently included in the Reproduction and life cycle section looks to me like it may be another species, not lepisma saccharinum. Would anyone be able to confirm either way? —ReadOnlyAccount (talk) 03:16, 5 April 2024 (UTC)