Firebrat
The firebrat is a small, fast, wingless insect, a close cousin of the silverfish. It has a long body that gets thinner at the end. As its name says, it loves heat and lives close to boilers, ovens and furnaces.
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Firebrat compared to YOU?
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How fast is it?
Fun facts
It feels best at 36 to 39 °C, which is as warm as a person with a fever.
One female can lay up to 6000 eggs in her life.
It can live 3 to 5 years, which is long for such a small insect.
The babies look just like the grown-ups, only waxy white.
Firebrats like to stay together. Scientists think the smell of other firebrats' droppings tells them where their friends are.
Most asked questions about Firebrat
?Is a firebrat dangerous?
No. It does not bite and does not spread disease, but it can spoil food and paper.
?What is the difference between a firebrat and a silverfish?
They are close relatives and look alike, but the firebrat loves warm places like boiler rooms.
?How big is a firebrat?
It is about 1 to 1.5 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Thermobia domestica
- Group
- Other insects
- Family
- Lepismatidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Zygentoma > Lepismatidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Firebrat (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by KyleCMSmith. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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