Gray silverfish - body shot, Heesch, Netherlands
This one dared to trespass in holy territory: my man cave. I found it underneath some diffusers, in a shallow metal container I use to store stuff. These insects are unable to climb slippery surfaces, which is the reason they're often found stuck in a sink.
Whilst terrible climbers, they're extraordinarily fast. They shoot away like a snake, or perhaps more fitting...a fish. I've never found one in our house before. Given that they're somewhat unwanted (they feed on paper and various other soft substances), I decided to sacrifice it.
Whilst I always struggle with handling tiny insects, this one has been the most fragile yet. It very easily loses its silvery scales upon any touch. I figured this would be an opportunity to try something I was planning for anyway. Instead of directly pinning the subject, here I placed it on black modeling clay.
Without pinning, there's less damage to the subject. And one can model the clay easily to a shape that balances and fits the subject. It's also somewhat sticky, allowing for angles and rotations that are otherwise difficult to pull off.
This species is basically only known from human settlements, it is unknown what their original natural environment is, other than the original specimen from South Africa, more than a century ago.
They are considered pest-like, yet reproduce surprisingly slow. They may live up to a stunning 8 years, and only reach sexual maturity at the age of 3. That's an extraordinarily slow life cycle for an insect.
If it is an insect at all. Currently classified as such, yet there seem to be discussions ongoing about exact placement. It is unlike most other insects for lacking wings, and it has no metamorphosis.
Here's an excellent page documenting the 3 species occurring in the Netherlands in great detail:
http://www.janvanduinen.nl/lepismatidae.php
The gray silverfish, also known as giant silverfish or long-tailed silverfish, is a small insect whose Latin name is Ctenolepisma longicaudatum. As with the silverfish the gray silverfish has scales that cover the body in a silvery sheen. The gray silverfish can also move very fast. Gray silverfish are about two centimeters long and are found in books and paper.
comments (7)
This is one of the few critters that freak me out. They used to be all over the place at the farm I worked at in grad school. They are so fast and get their name bc they wriggle like fish.
They are so much more attractive up close, though. I like it’s “blackberry eyes”. Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
And springtails seem to have such primitive eyes as well. The author of that dutch article above anticipates that in the future, the silverfish may be placed in a "primitive insect" taxon, perhaps Entognatha, not sure. Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
The eyes are definitely similar. They also remind me of tick egg masses. Posted 4 years ago