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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Silverfish (Zygentoma) » Lepismatidae » Thermobia

Genus Thermobia

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited

Beige/black striped bug in condo in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada - Thermobia domestica

Banded silverfish? - Thermobia domestica

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Zygentoma (Silverfish)

Family Lepismatidae

Genus Thermobia

Explanation of Names

Thermobia Bergroth 1890

Greek 'living in warmth'

Numbers

2 spp. in our area(1)

Size

~8 mm

Identification

The Firebrat (T. domestica) has an elongate yellowish body with brown stripes and mottled spots dorsally, and is stout-bodied (abdomen relatively broad-tipped and often shorter than thorax, giving an overall "chunky" appearance)

Range

cosmopolitan indoors

Habitat

T. domestica prefers hot places (>30°C) such as around furnaces and fireplaces, and in the insulation surrounding hot water and heating pipes, but will explore other areas of homes and buildings in search of food

Season

all year indoors

Food

nymphs and adults feed mostly at night on products rich in carbohydrates or protien; stored foods, glues, book bindings, and paper products may be attacked

Life Cycle

eggs are laid in crevices in batches of ~50 and take 12-13 days to hatch; adulthood is reached at ~4 four months, and individuals live for several years; up to several generations per year

Remarks

T. aegyptiaca was discovered in good numbers in the basement of the main library at Ohio State University in the late 1940s (and described as T. campbelli)

See Also

T. aegyptiaca is mostly transparent, silvery-gray

the Common Silverfish is slightly larger (10 mm) and more slender, is uniformly silver or gray, and is generally not found around furnaces or hot pipes

the Four-lined Silverfish (Ctenolepisma lineata) has 4 lines down its back, and the Gray [or Giant] Siverfish (C. longicaudata) is uniformly gray; both are ~15 mm - almost twice as large as the Firebrat

other species of Lepismatidae are normally found outdoors

Internet References

Fact sheet (Clemson U.)

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 11 November, 2005 - 9:52pm
Additional contributions by v belov, KenW
Last updated 22 November, 2021 - 5:52pm

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