Firebrat

Thermobia domestica — the firebrat — is one of the most ancient surviving insect species and the silverfish's heat-loving cousin. Like the closely related Lepisma saccharinum (the common silverfish), the firebrat belongs to order Zygentoma — an apterygote ('before wings') lineage approximately 400 million years old, predating wing evolution in insects. The body is silver-and-tan-mottled, slender, scaled, with three terminal filaments at the tail and long antennae. The species' defining ecological adaptation is heat tolerance: firebrats thrive at 30-40°C and reproduce most rapidly at 35°C. They are encountered in hot indoor environments — behind ovens and dishwashers, around hot water heaters, in furnace rooms, in bakery kilns (the source of the historic British 'firebrat' name), in paper mills, and in steam-heated commercial buildings. Like silverfish, firebrats are extraordinarily long-lived (8+ years), reproduce via male spermatophore deposition and elaborate antennae-touching courtship, and feed on a wide range of organic materials: starches, sugars, paper, fabric, dead insects, dandruff, and dried glue. The species damages books, photographs, wallpaper, fabric, and paper-based materials in heated indoor environments. The Wild Pest service area sees T. domestica primarily in commercial kitchens, bakeries, and large heated buildings across BC.