Common Silver Fish are commonly found in the Indian subcontinent and thrive in human habitats. They prefer indoors like houses, garages and pipelines. This kind of silverfish thrive in darkness and cause extensive damage by destroying books, files, papers and stored cloths.
Silverfish are nocturnal insects, thrive in almost all climatic conditions and preferring darkness and damp locations. They feed on foods like paper, cloth, gum, starch, cereals, linen, moulds, damp wall, yarn, silk etc., which contain carbohydrates and proteins.
| Common name | Silver Fish |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Lepisma Saccharina |
| Size | Approximate 13 to 25 mm |
| Habitat | Hiding at garage office book shelves and stored areas. Destroy food in pantries, clothing, wallpaper, books, dried beef, flour, starch, paper, gum, glue, cotton, linen, rayon, silk, sugar, molds and breakfast cereals. |
| Life span | Two to three years |
GIST OF LIFE CYCLE:Eggs: Laying in small groups, containing a few to 50 eggs. They are very small and are deposited in cracks and crevices. They lay less than 100 eggs during their lifespan of two to three years. They hatch in two weeks. But sometimes may take up to two months for hatching.
Nymphs:They are whitish in colour. Looks like smaller adults molt throughout their lives, maturing through over 60 days and growing to an average size of ¾ inch. It may take up to six months for them to develop into an adult.
Adults:Average size of an adult 13-25 mm. They are silvery-gray in colour. It has a soft and elongated body tapering towards the abdomen cover with silvery grey scales and small compound eyes, some are eyeless, females are capable of producing thousands of off spring over the course of their lives. When temperatures are favorable, they grow from eggs to sexually mature adults in a span of couple months. If the climate is colder, the process can take as long as two years. Adults congregate in dark areas to mate.
The overall life span of Silverfish is two to three years.
