Name That Bug

Well gang, it's time for another fact-filled edition of Name That Bug. This week's pest is the ever-popular Lepisma saccharina (commonly called the fishmoth, urban silverfish or just the silverfish). It belongs to the basal insect order Thysanura, and the species is estimated to have existed for over 300 million years, originating in the Palaeozoic Era.

The favorite food of silverfish is any matter that contains starch or polysaccharides, such as dextrin in adhesives. These include glue, book bindings, paper, photos, sugar, hair, and dandruff. Silverfish can also cause damage to books, tapestries, and textiles. Silverfish will commonly graze in and around showers, baths, and sinks on the cellulose present in many shampoos, shaving foams and so on. Apart from these cases, the damage caused by silverfish is negligible and they have no direct effect on human health beyond psychological distress to those who are frightened or disgusted by their appearance.

Strangely enough, this is something I have in common with the silverfish. So, how do we eliminate them?

In buildings, silverfish can only exist in sufficiently humid, crevice-rich environments. If these two conditions are removed, the silverfish will not be able to survive. By far the most effective way to be rid of silverfish for sure is to keep an area or room tidy, limiting the possible number of breeding grounds they have. (H/T - Wikipedia)

They only exist in humid, crevice-rich environments? They must overrun the face of Edward James Olmos! Heh.

Name That Bug

It's time for a new feature here at SYLG: Name That Bug.

After seeing some nasty insects outside (and occasionally inside) my home, I figured as a public service, I should enlighten others who share my dread. Let's begin, shall we?

This little bastard is the House Centipede.

The house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata, is a yellowish grey centipede with 15 pairs of legs. Originally endemic to the Mediterranean region, the species has spread to other parts of the world, where it usually lives in human homes. It is an insectivore; it kills and eats insects.

House centipedes feed on spiders, bedbugs, termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants and other household pests. They kill their prey by injecting venom through their fangs.

Because they eat household pests, house centipedes are considered among the most beneficial creatures that inhabit human dwellings, but because of their alarming appearance, frightening speed, and painful bite, few homeowners are willing to share a home with them. (H/T - Wikipedia)

Okay, why am I grossing everyone out on an early Saturday morning? Because one of these things is currently eluding my assassination attempt. The damned thing is over three inches long, and faster than Jeff Gordon on nitrous. So, I looked up the little critter, and was amazed at what I found.

I had no idea that the house centipede ate other pests. That's a good thing, and I appreciate their efforts. Still, if I find this thing, it's going down.