Thysanura

Thysanura is an order of small active insects that includes the familiar silverfish Lepisma saccharina and the firebrat. The order includes about 370 species worldwide, in four families. The insects of the order may be called bristletails, from their three long caudal filaments.

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Silverfish are so called due to the silvery glitter of the scales covering their bodies. Their movement is "fish-like" and makes it look as if they're swimming. They are less than half an inch long and found in damp corners or amongst books and papers in houses. Although accredited with destroying paper and linen, it probably feeds only on farinaceous (flour) or sugary substances. Silverfish can sometimes be found in bathtubs or sinks at night, as they have difficulty moving on smooth surfaces and so become trapped.

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The families Machilidae and Meinerellidae of the jumping bristletails were once included with Thysanura, but now have their own order, Microcoryphia.

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There are no current species at conservation risk.

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Order: Order (from Latin ordo "row, rank, series, arrangement", Old French ordre from the Latin accusative, ordinem, attested in English from the 1220s). The word conveys a notion of "a system of parts subject to certain uniform, established ranks or proportions", an idea very central to scholastic thoug...

Lepisma saccharina: Lepisma saccharina (commonly called the urban silverfish or just the silverfish) is a nimble, light-fearing and wingless insect. The species got its common name from the silver gray tint of its body. Silverfish live on carbohydrates such as sugar or starches, which explains the origin of its scien...

Glitter: Glitter is the word used to describe an assortment of very small (roughly 1 mm²) pieces of paper or plastic, used for various functions in art, craft, and design. These are painted in various colours, including metallic, neon and iridescent varieties. Glitter is usually stored in canisters some...