Have you spotted a tiny fish-looking insect that’s silver in color and has several legs, that’s suddenly jumped out of your closet or bookshelves? That’s a silverfish bug!
Nowhere near a fish, but it’s called Silverfish because it looks like one. This little bug, may appear harmless, but know this, silverfish bugs are enemies and silverfish infestations are common.
Image via Flickr
What’s A Silverfish Bug – Wikipedia
Lepisma saccharina, commonly known as a silverfish or fishmoth, is a small, wingless insect in the order Thysanura. Not to be confused with centipedes. Its common name derives from the animal’s silvery light grey and blue colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements, while the scientific name (L. saccharina) indicates the silverfish’s diet of carbohydrates such as sugar or starches.
Silverfish are nocturnal insects typically 13–30 mm (0.5–1 in) long. Their abdomens taper at the end, giving them a fish-like appearance. The newly hatched are whitish, but develop a greyish hue and metallic shine as they get older.[4] They have three long cerci at the tips of their abdomens, one off the end of their body, one facing left, and one facing right. They also have two small compound eyes, despite other members of Thysanura being completely eyeless, such as the family Nicoletiidae.
Like other species in Apterygota, silverfish are completely wingless. They have long antennae, and move in a wiggling motion that resembles the movement of a fish. This, coupled with their appearance, influences their common name. Silverfish typically live for two to eight years. Read more …
What Silverfish Bug Can Do You?
A Silverfish bug is harmful to our health because it directly feeds on foods that we normally store in our cupboards such as cereals, sugar, cookies, oats and other carbohydrate foods and contaminate them. Although there was no serious cases reported, but once they come in contact with these foods, they leave bacteria-causing allergies and illnesses.
You rarely see them in groups, not even in two’s. Silverfish bugs keeps on hunting for food and they even feed on clothes, important papers and books. When you see signs of silverfish bug infestation, don’t freak out, call a professional all pest exterminator near you to deal with the problem directly.
Do Silverfish Bite? – How To Get Rid Of And Kill Silverfish Bugs
When you think about a pest, you would think that it could harm someone. Many bugs bite. However, when you see a silverfish in your home, you ask, “Do silverfish bite?”. Do not worry because silverfish pests do not bite.
