Firebrats and Silverfish Are Rocking Some Old-School Looks | Deep Look

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.

DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

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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.”

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Here’s How That Annoying Fly Dodges Your Swatter

These Termites Turn Your House into a Palace of Poop

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🏆Congratulations🏆 to these 5 fans on our Community Tab who identified what gives the firebrats and silverfish the ability to digest cellulose - special enzymes!

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The Steel City Storm
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Meren Imchen

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Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by The National Science Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.
#deeplook #silverfish #firebrat

[baulderos]

So that's why silverfish lives in strongholds, they have libraries!

[jonasinsinga]

As an entomologist, seeing all these videos about invertebrates brings joy to me. Not many people have bothered taking footage of such animals, let alone discussing them in an informative manner targeted at the general public. Bravo!

[vduuefw]

Dog: **doesn't eat your homework**
Firebrat: "Fine, I'll do it myself"

[tripleshing]

Teacher:"Where is your assignment?"
ate it?"

[Weiner-Worm]

They do have a very fluid movement, like a fish. If you've ever scared a few dozen silverfish at once, it's actually kind of cool to watch them scatter. They do look like a school of dish dispersing, their scales flickering like fish scales. I find them to be quite cute, I enjoyed the close up. Their faces close up make them even cuter.

[cunningclown]

I was wondering where all my cereal goes

[PatienceDepleted]

Never have I been so glad that I keep my cereal in a container with a sealed lid.

[pekorisa]

"These insects don't bite or sting"

Me playing minecraft: That's the biggest lie I've ever heard

[NewMessage]

My wife: "How was that book I saw you nose deep in the other day?"
From behind the bookcase, in a tiny, muffled voice: "Delicious."
Me: "She was talking to me, you freeloader!"

[federicoricca]

*Hey, at least the real one are so small that they can't attack*

[rimasingh]

Alternate title: Insects walking and eating ASMR

[DaniesHere]

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.

[zaasasdadad]

It's interesting to see these primitive insects are still around today. Here's to another million more!

[marlin]

"Shaped like a fish"
Excuse me what planet do you live in?

[TheMightyX]

As a person with hundreds of books in my house, as well as having an abiding love of house centipedes, I’m rooting for the house centipede.

[Derrick]

This channel is seriously underrated, I'd buy a ticket if there's a documentary in a movie theater and this is the show.

[CuongTran-sam]

Daddy firebrat to his son: "Eat this book and behave, son. Don't be a little brat out there!"

[finalposs]

Yay, one of my favorite bugs! Once I got all my food and art stuff safely sealed up, seeing these lil guys around the house went from a worry to a comfort. There's a sort of fish-like wiggle to the way they move around that looks really cute to me. The house feels a bit less lonely with them around, and it's nice to have something joyful in life in place of the fear that used to be there before.

[oneeyecoco]

omg Im in love with deep look I'm 13 now but but I've been watching since I was 7 so deep look keep going and don't give up

[salt-emoji]

Most channels avoid insects and creepy crawlers. Really appreciate the content. Arthropods are so fascinating.