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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 three families. The insects of the order may be called bristletails, from their three long caudal filaments.
Silverfish are so-called from the silvery glitter of the scales covering their bodies. 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 or saccharine substances. Silverfish are frequently found in bathtubs or sinks at night, as they have difficulty moving on smooth surfaces and are trapped.
The families Machilidae and Meinerellidae of the jumping bristletails have been included with Thysanura, but are more recently given their own order Microcoryphia.
Reference
- Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson, Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th edition (Thomas Brooks/Cole, 2005), pp. 177-180
External link
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.
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