Silverfish vs Termite-Nest Silverfish

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Silverfish Termite-Nest Silverfish
Scientific Name Lepisma saccharinum Atelura formicaria
Order Zygentoma Zygentoma
Family Lepismatidae Nicoletiidae
Size 10-15mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Indoors Woodlands
Diet Omnivores Detritivores
Regions Worldwide Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Silverfish

A primitive wingless insect with a silvery scaled body and three tail filaments. A common household inhabitant.

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Did You Know?

Has existed in essentially the same form for 400 million years making it one of the oldest surviving insect designs.

Termite-Nest Silverfish

A small, blind, unpigmented silverfish that lives exclusively inside ant nests. It has evolved chemical mimicry to avoid detection and is tolerated by its ant hosts.

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Did You Know?

This silverfish steals food directly from the mouths of ants by mimicking the chemical signals ants use to request food sharing.