Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Thermobia domestica - Firebrat

Fast-crawling bug - Thermobia domestica Firebrat - Thermobia domestica silverfish - Thermobia domestica Silverfish? - Thermobia domestica Firebrat? - Thermobia domestica Thermobia domestica Silverfish: Lepisma saccharina? - Thermobia domestica Thermobia domestica
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Zygentoma (Silverfish)
Family Lepismatidae
Genus Thermobia
Species domestica (Firebrat)
Explanation of Names
Thermobia domestica (Packard 1837)
Size
~8 mm
Identification
oblong/elongate yellowish body with dark brown bands and mottled spots on the dorsal surface; stout-bodied (abdomen relatively broad-tipped and often shorter than thorax, giving an overall "chunky" appearance)
Range
cosmopolitan indoors
Habitat
prefers hot places (above 30°C [90°F]) 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 protein; stored foods, glues, book bindings, and paper products may be attacked
Life Cycle
eggs are laid in crevices in batches of 50 or so and take 12 to 13 days to hatch; adulthood is reached at about four months of age, and individuals live for several years; simple metamorphosis (egg, nymphs, adult); up to several generations per year
See Also
T. aegyptiaca is mostly transparent with a silvery-gray dorsal surface [and is apparently restricted to OH & PA(1)]
Lepisma saccharina is slightly larger (10 mm) and more slender, uniformly silver or gray, and is generally not found around furnaces or hot pipes
Ctenolepisma lineata has 4 lines down its back, and C. longicaudata is uniformly gray; both are about 15 mm - almost twice as large as the Firebrat
other species of Lepismatidae are normally found outdoors