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Thysanura (silver fish and 3 pronged bristle tails)
The Dyctyoptera are an order in the phylum Uniramia or Hexapoda (depends which book you read), for more pages on this phylum click the menu below left.

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Uniramia
--Centipedes
--Hexapoda 1 (insects)
--Hexapoda 2 (insects)
--Insect orders
----Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths)
----Ephemeroptera (mayflies)
----Hemiptera (bugs, cicadas)
----Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps & saw flies)
------Bumblebees
----Coleoptera (beetles)
----Dictyoptera (mantids, cockroaches)
----Diptera (true flies)
----Neuroptera (lacewings, ant lions)
----Orthoptera (crickets, locusts)
----Thysanura (bristletails, silver fish)
----Strepsiptera (stylops)
----Thysanoptera (thrips)
----Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies)
----Trichoptera (caddis flies)
----Siphonaptera (fleas)
----Isoptera (termites)
----Phasmida (stick & leaf insects)
----Dermaptera (earwigs)
----Anoplura/Sipunculata (sucking lice)
----Mallophaga (biting lice, bird lice)
----Psocoptera (book lice)
----Mecoptera (scorpion flies)
----Collembola (springtail)
----Embioptera (web spinners)
----Plecoptera (stone flies)
----Diplura (bristletails)
----Protura
----Zoraptera
Thysanura fast facts
Small, long, carrot-shaped bodies.
Covered with scales.
Compound eyes.
Long antennae.
Biting mouthparts.
Three terminal abdominal filaments.
Two cerci.
Found mostly in damp, dark places.
About 600 species in the world; 23 species inthe British Isles.

Thysanura range in size from 0.5 to 2.0 cm. They have carrot-shaped bodies with 3 long segmented tail filaments. The filaments are bristled. They also have 2 cerci (singular: cercus) which can be mistaken for legs, see the image below. They run very fast and are difficult to catch, and as they are covered in shiny scales they are aptly named silver fish. They undergo many moults - even as adults which is very unusual for an insect. They may live for as long as five years, and take around a year to reach maturity.

Silverfish usually live in buildings in colder climates, and the females can lay eggs throughout the year. The eggs hatch in around 2 weeks and reach maturity in just 3 months.


Thysanura, bristle tail, silver fish

Thysanura, silver fish, bristle tail

Mating. The male deposits a spermatophore on the ground. Then attaches signal threads leading from it to guide the female to its whereabouts.

 

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