Silverfish

I admit that the first time I heard "silverfish" I pictured a tiny seafood delicacy, perhaps something delicate and crispy on a plate. The truth is less culinary-romantic but at least equally fascinating. The silverfish, scientifically Lepisma saccharinum, is a small, wingless insect with silvery shimmering scales and a preference for damp, dark places. I met this creature in my first old apartment: I opened the kitchen drawer and saw a tiny, trembling strip that looked like a miniature version of an antique fish. I was equally amused and slightly appalled.

What has fascinated me about silverfish since then is their plain persistence and adaptability. They feed on starch, paper, wallpaper paste and even textiles, which makes them particularly interesting to people who love old books or like to decorate rooms with lots of paper. A colleague of mine stored handwritten notes in a box for years; when he reopened the box, the edges of the papers were slightly nibbled – an indication that silverfish had probably shared his reading material.

Although harmless to human health, silverfish can be considered pests because they damage materials. I do, however, like the perspective of seeing these animals as indicators of living conditions: their presence usually points to increased humidity. That once led me to replace an old shower curtain in an apartment, eliminating not only the silverfish but also a musty smell.

Those who deal with silverfish often value the following insights:

To me the silverfish remains a small, unobtrusive reminder of how closely our living environment is connected to nature. I now regard them with a mixture of respect and pragmatism: preserve when possible, drive away when necessary. That balance between curiosity and practical common sense has accompanied me since that first night in the old apartment when a tiny silver gleam explored my kitchen drawer.