Species Ctenolepisma lineatum - Four-lined Silverfish

Ctenolepisma quadriseriata (Packard)

The gender of this genus is neuter, not feminine, following ICZN

Article 30, and explicitly clarified in ICZN Opinion 2427 in 2018."

Ctenolepisma lineata (Fabricius 1775)

~15 mm

The abdomen is often marked with 4 dark brown lines. Generally similar to the closely related Common Silverfish (Lepisma saccharina) but can be distinguished by being rather stouter and less shiny with all appendages (antennae and 3 "tails") noticeably longer. The young are light brown, and are often tinged with pink until the fourth molt, which occurs a month or so after hatching.

eastern United States as far south as Georgia and Arkansas and also in California.

can be found throughout the house, incl. basement, wall voids, attic (often in large numbers, particularly in houses with roofs of wooden shingles). in the mulch of flower beds around the foundation, and also in the garage (even unattached to the house) (Zeigler 1955). C. l. pilifera (Lucas) frequently enters homes in rural northern California (Smith 1970).