Lepisma chlorosoma

Lepisma chlorosoma · Order: Zygentoma · Family: Lepismatidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Lepisma chlorosoma
Photo: Karl Leopold Escherich (18 September 1871 – 22 November 1951), Public domain

It lives in Mediterranean climates across the western Mediterranean Basin, including southern Europe and North Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

In homes it stays near ant nests but does not become fully integrated, usually keeping to the periphery and avoiding direct contact with workers.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Lepisma chlorosoma prefers Mediterranean climates.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It is often found near ant nests, feeding in association with ant genera like Bothriomyrmex, Camponotus, Crematogaster, Pheidole, Tapinoma, and Tetramorium.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is native to the western Mediterranean Basin, recorded in Portugal, Spain, Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia), Croatia, and North African countries such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It looks very similar to Lepisma baeticum, and can only be separated by microscopic details of the chaetotaxy.

Source: Wikipedia

Questions people ask

How can I tell Lepisma chlorosoma apart from similar silverfish?

Look for dark head and antennae, metallic dark-green thorax and abdomen with whitish abdominal marks, and yellowish legs with reddish setae; definitive ID needs microscopic chaetotaxy examination.

Source: Wikipedia

Where might I find this bug in my house?

It tends to hang out near ant nests inside homes, staying at the nest edge and avoiding direct contact with the ants.

Source: Wikipedia

What region is Lepisma chlorosoma native to?

It is native to the western Mediterranean Basin, including parts of southern Europe and North Africa.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Lepismatidae)

CtenolepismaCtenolepismaCtenolepismaCan damage your homeLong-tailed SilverfishLong-tailed SilverfishCtenolepisma longicaudatumCan damage your homeCommon SilverfishCommon SilverfishLepisma saccharinumCan damage your homeFirebratFirebratThermobia domesticaCan damage your homeFour-lined SilverfishFour-lined SilverfishCtenolepisma lineataFour-lined SilverfishFour-lined SilverfishCtenolepisma lineatumNuisance, not dangerous

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepisma_chlorosoma

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

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