Gray silverfish

Ctenolepisma longicaudatum

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.
Ctenolepisma longicaudatum - Smorgasbord This one stumbled on what it must have thought to be a smorgasbord while I was trying to get in focus. Shortly after this image was taken it took off again, but took the bulky food package with it. First time I've ever seen a Lepismatidae carying food around! Next stop I managed to take a close-up: https://www.jungledragon.com/image/105446/ctenolepisma_longicaudata_-_close-up.html Ctenolepisma,Ctenolepisma longicaudata,Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Ctenolepismatinae,Geotagged,Gray silverfish,Lepismatidae,Netherlands,Schiermonnikoog,Zygentoma,nl: Papiervisje

Appearance

Body length about 15-19 mm (or 5/8 to 3/4 inch). Body uniformly light to dark gray; abdomen lacks median setal combs (tufts of hair) beneath but has setal combs above; rear of abdomen has two pairs of styli (fingerlike processes).
Ctenolepisma longicaudata Meulenbelt Ctenolepisma longicaudata found inside, together with Lepisma saccharinna. This image was used for the booklet "Top-insecten" issued by the Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn in 2019, for children to "collect" images of all sorts of insects, handed out with every 10€ of purchase. https://www.naturalis.nl/top-insecten-met-albert-heijn https://nieuws.ah.nl/naturalis-en-albert-heijn-zetten-insecten-in-de-schijnwerpers/ Ctenolepisma,Ctenolepisma longicaudata,Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Ctenolepismatinae,Geotagged,Gray silverfish,Lepismatidae,Netherlands,Zygentoma,nl: Papiervisje

Distribution

Europe, Midwestern and southern United States.
Gray silverfish - body shot, Heesch, Netherlands https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104914/gray_silverfish_-_body_shot_2_heesch_netherlands.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104916/gray_silverfish_-_lateral_heesch_netherlands.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104913/gray_silverfish_-_frontal_heesch_netherlands.html 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 Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Extreme Macro,Gray silverfish

Status

Not endangered, can be a pest
Grey Silverfish A grey silverfish trapped in my bathroom sink. Dutch name: Papiervisje (Ctenolepisma longicaudatum) Ctenolepisma,Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Geotagged,Gray silverfish,Lepismatidae,The Netherlands,Zygentoma

Habitat

The silverfish lives in cracks and crevices in all areas of homes from basement to attic: closets, storage areas, kitchens, garages, etc.; hides during day, and avoids light. Not found outdoors.
Ctenolepisma longicaudatum of course, also present here ... Alerdinck,Ctenolepisma,Ctenolepisma longicaudata,Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Ctenolepismatinae,Geotagged,Gray silverfish,Lepismatidae,Netherlands,Zygentoma,nl: Papiervisje

Reproduction

The eggs are oval and about 0.8 millimeters long. Female gray silverfish lay around 100 eggs in their lifetime. Eggs are laid in groups of up to three eggs at the same time. These eggs hatch in six weeks. Adult fish can become two to eight years old. The insects are sexually mature in 3-24 months.

female lays eggs in batches of 2-20, placing them in cracks; first instar lacks setae (hairs) and scales; scales appear in 4th instar, and genitalia appear in 14th instar; sexual maturity reached in 2-3 years; adult may molt 3-5 times per year for another 5 years
Ctenolepisma longicaudata - Close-up Close-up of the Gray silverfish below, after it had taken off, carrying an impressive load of food around: https://www.jungledragon.com/image/105447/ctenolepisma_longicaudatum_-_smorgasbord.html Ctenolepisma,Ctenolepisma longicaudata,Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Ctenolepismatinae,Geotagged,Gray silverfish,Lepismatidae,Netherlands,Schiermonnikoog,Zygentoma,nl: Papiervisje

Food

Paper of high chemical pulp content such as onion skin, cleansing tissue, cellophane; wheat flour and beef extract, especially when used as a paste on paper; starched clothing and dry foods
Gray silverfish - body shot 2, Heesch, Netherlands https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104915/gray_silverfish_-_body_shot_heesch_netherlands.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104916/gray_silverfish_-_lateral_heesch_netherlands.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/104913/gray_silverfish_-_frontal_heesch_netherlands.html 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 Ctenolepisma longicaudatum,Extreme Macro,Gray silverfish

Predators

A natural predator is the spitting spider (Scytodes thoracica).

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papiervisje
http://bugguide.net/node/view/151414
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderThysanura
FamilyLepismatidae
GenusCtenolepisma
SpeciesCtenolepisma longicaudatum
Photographed in
Netherlands