Bookworm - NH 056

NH 056

Silverfish

Category: Bristletails

Family: Lepismatidae

So yesterday I stumbled upon an insect preparation file online which eventually lead me to be able to correctly identify what one of the 'unknown insects' in the collection is. It would be NH 056, which when I first found it on the floor of my room on October 26, 2020 at 11:00am. I had absolutely no idea what it was but quickly captured it, labeled it, and tentatively identified it as the larva form of some other insect. But as it turns out, it actually belongs to a completely different order, Thysanura which contains bristletails. You can easily tell from the three long filaments on the back of the insect. This one happens to be a Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina).

Now I had never heard about or even seen these guys until yesterday, and they are actually kinda interesting for a pest. You see silverfish and their cousins firebrats, actually eat books and similar items. Tapestries, papers, glue, photos, carpets, and sugars all constitute their diet. You can find some more information on silverfish here, or check out the Wikipedia page to see what they can do to books. It's a nice new addition to the collection, and it's silvery color is still visible in its vial.

And just as a side note, while the term 'book worm' is generally termed to general book enthusiasts who are always buried in their books, it is also used as a loose term for any species of insect that eats or burrows into a book. Furniture beetles, death watch beetle larvae, paper louses, along with the bristletails all make up the book worm insect group.