Mirolepisma deserticola

Mirolepisma deserticola · Order: Zygentoma · Family: Lepismatidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Mirolepisma deserticola
Photo: Jeremiah Degenhardt, CC BY

Mirolepisma deserticola is the only species in its genus of silverfish. All available information repeats that it belongs to the family Lepismatidae.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The genus Mirolepisma contains just one species, Mirolepisma deserticola.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Mirolepisma deserticola is a silverfish, but no size details are given.

Source: Wikipedia

Is it a pest in the house?

There is no indication whether it is a household pest.

Source: Wikipedia

Does it bite or sting?

No bite or sting information is available.

Source: Wikipedia

How to get rid of it

Control methods are not described.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is a silverfish, though the specific habitat is not described.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Diet information is not provided.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Life-cycle details are absent.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Seasonal activity is not mentioned.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

No native range is specified for this species.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

No look-alike species are listed.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 5 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Utah.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Mirolepisma deserticola photo 3
Photo: Jared Shorma, CC BY
Mirolepisma deserticola photo 4
Photo: Trevor Van Loon, CC BY
Mirolepisma deserticola photo 5
Photo: Jeremiah Degenhardt, CC BY
Mirolepisma deserticola photo 6
Photo: Benjamin Burgunder, CC BY

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 lineatumNuisance, not dangerousCtenolepisma ciliatumCtenolepisma ciliatumCtenolepisma ciliatum

Sources

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

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · 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.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.