Firebrats and Silverfish Are Rocking Some Old-School Looks | Deep Look
Wissenschaft & Technik
What *is* that bizarre fishlike thing squirming in your sink at night? Firebrats and silverfish are pretty darn similar to some of the earliest insects on Earth. With three long filaments poking out their back, no wings and mini-me babies, they have something to teach us about survival.
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Look closely at the firebrat munching on cereal in your kitchen or getting cozy in a pile of newspapers. You’ll see traits some of the earliest insects had around 400 million years ago.
Take its three tail-looking filaments. The two outer ones are called cerci. They work like antennae, detecting chemicals and predators like house centipedes.
Other insects, like cockroaches, have a short pair of cerci. But very few insects have the middle filament that firebrats and silverfish possess. Called the median caudal filament, it has tiny hairs that can detect the faintest air currents.
--- What do firebrats eat?
Cereal, spices and books - both the pages and the glue in the binding. Only a handful of the 500 to 600 species of firebrats and silverfish live with us. In nature, they feed on leaves, stems, needles and bark.
“And they will also eat, well, each other,” said entomologist Art Appel from Auburn University.
--- Are firebrats dangerous?
No, they don’t bite or sting.
--- What is the difference between silverfish and firebrats?
Silverfish generally prefer cooler parts of the house, while firebrats are drawn to warmer corners, like a water heater - hence their name.
--- Does evolution have a goal?
When you look at a firebrat, with its ancient traits, you might wonder why it hasn’t changed to be more like other insects. For example, when insects developed wings around 325 million years ago this led to an explosion in insect diversity. So why did firebrats remain wingless, like the earliest insects?
“When we see a creature that looks pretty similar to things that were probably living 400 million years ago, we think, ‘Why isn’t that creature doing a better job of being modern?’” said Sandra Schachat, a doctoral student who researches insect evolution at Stanford University. “But the way that evolution works is that it doesn't really have an optimum that things are being driven towards. You don’t need to be the most abundant species in your habitat in order to survive. You only need to be abundant enough that you can maintain some kind of population over time.”
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
www.kqed.org/science/1972757/firebrats-and-silverfish-are-rocking-some-old-school-looks
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#deeplook #silverfish #firebrat
KOMMENTARE
Silverfish Minecraft player: *that name is familiar*
I'm surprised these creatures haven't gotten extinct yet with the amount of spanners broken everyday ! Lol
Who's getting paranoid about their shelf of books?
Firewhat?
who would see them as fish? they clearly an lobster
They’re so cute 🥰
2:10 Grasshoppers, praying mantises, cockroaches, bedbugs. It's not that rare.
I love firebrats...they're so cute
I love to shoot these with my nerf gun when they wander into my bathtub
they love my tissue boxes
How can firebrats climb when its a 100 straight wall,and they can get out on like a curved bowl or sink?????????
aka DESTROYER OF COMICS
Interesting... 🤔
They creep me out so much for some reason
HI LAURA ITS LAURA.
I’ve always wanted to find one in the wild. Very difficult.
When I saw that house centipede I like freaked out- COULD THAT BE IN MY HOUSE?!
they cute lol
"hiding in your walls" WHA
I wonder how many people just learned that silver fish aren’t just a Minecraft thing, I remember the Instagram (or it may have been tumblr) post about someone learning that silver fish are real it was super funny.
I feel so good that I haven't seen any of these for years I literally keep tarantulas as a pet and have more that 300 arachnids in total but I am scared of these lol
I actually want to hold these guys.
Can i keep only one
Ah yes a new excuse for my homework "The firebrats eat my home work!"
Just like Watop, so interesting
Anybody else itchy rn?
0:21, we finna see if it swims like one.
I keep killing this insect almost everyday
Shaped Like a FISH??
Silverfish
Fiber rats
Why are they kind of cute
If you’ve ever tried to mine out your ender portal you know all about these guys
U mean a cricket
So silver fish don’t randomly spawn at night
I love them
Idk which is more disgusting a silverfish or a cockroach I would say both
1:48 why must you *traumatize* me in this way
silverfish... *minecraft war flashbacks.*
I remembered this thing almost got inside my ears.. Never sleep without plug in my ears after this
The little noises are a bit too much lol
Bruh
Creation of Awesome God!
Is it weird that I find firebrats cute?
you wot? reply when u see it
"You- Wot"
awhhh they're so cute! my mom would kill me if i kept them tho
Figure out the enzyme sequence...
Leave my books alone you brats!
*KILL IT*
I ve always found them cute for some reason
Had a silverbug in my bathroom once when I was like 5 , I didnt want to take a bath without underwear on for a year
If i opened that book id be like : “motherf.....”
Eeww disgusting *click*☑️
You._wot
I just wash them down the drain of the bathtub or let my cat eat them
3:37 *you wot*?
I Saw a silverfish the size of a Hotwheels today
3:37 you Wot
I’m going to employ these to assassinate my homework
i want to oet him
Dont tell me they are in my CEREAL. 🥲
tierzoo has thought me, and i see it here, this silverfish is just harnesting evolution points for something big, im scared also, really nice video
POV: u clicked on this bc of Minecraft silverfish
And they also protect the end portal!
This video was so disturbing to watch i felt my skin crawl
POV: your can't stop watching videos from this channel
now i feel bad for smashing them between books
Minecraft fans : hears silverfish Also minecraft fan : THATS why i cant beat the enderdragon
Minecraft?
I was so scared when i saw the caterpillar so close
Lol the page said "you wot"
I always thought silverfish were only some made up minecraft mob.
3:54 They don’t bite or sting Silverfish in Minecraft bites.. Is there an explanation to this?
3:37 got a little English in here..
they look cute up close
They are so fragile and you may find a golden or silver print if you touch them...
I only knew silverfish from Minecraft 😅
I only know that silverfish exist because of Minecraft.
Ohhh
MINECRAFT SILVER FISH WOOOO
They are quite cute
I’m in the bathroom AND OHHHHHH YOU SCARED ME WHEN YOU SAID A LITTLE BUG IS IN MY SINK!
noice
Whats the tiny tiny tinnyyyy longish bug that is silver and you try and touch it and it literally seems to teleport?
Her:silverfish Me:aaahhhh minecraft?
So thats what I torched with a lighter!
insect: Exist Me: lemme introduce... the majestic flipflop
Professor: where's your assignment? Me: The brats ate it Professor: ...I'm not joking Me: me either... Professor: ...👁️_👁️ Me:..👀
WAIT SILVERFISH ARE REAL?!?!
I've loved this channel since I discovered it, maybe early last year! Insects, and animals in general, are fascinating. Even the sound fx are great. This team does a fantastic job, so nerds like me can appreciate it. However, I'm curious about referencing the living world in "millions" of years. Like, a year equivalent to 356 24 hour days....times several millions...? Where is proof that Earth and the creatures that inhabit it are that old, "millions of years," instead of maybe being a lot less *old*? A lot less!
Bruh there’s so many in my room in the summer :/
0:20 How is it shaped like a fish?! It’s shaped more like a bug, to me, like just what it is!
Used to do a lot of monster creation for 1st edition D&D. Never knew firebrats when I came up with the name for a creature that was half fire elemental and half quickliing.
1:17 I really like how when the firebrat moved you can read "love" while the narrator also says it. Really nice touch, I also really like these videos since they are great education about different species on the earth that most of us don't even know.
so basically flies are just chonky mosquitoes
Why aren't they made out of blocks?
อยากให้มีซัพภาษาไทยจังครับ
“Yes, mosquitoes are flies”, mmm... they aren’t but can fly
This is why I keep my grains in the fridge