Common Silverfish vs Ocean Strider

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Silverfish Ocean Strider
Scientific Name Lepisma saccharina Halobates micans
Order Zygentoma Hemiptera
Family Lepismatidae Gerridae
Size 8-13 mm 4-5 mm
Habitat Underground Beaches & Coastal
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Worldwide Tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Common Silverfish

The most well-known silverfish species, found in homes and buildings worldwide. It has a silvery, torpedo-shaped body covered in fine scales.

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Did You Know?

It can survive for over a year without eating.

Ocean Strider

A remarkable open-ocean water strider that spends its entire life on the surface of tropical seas. It is one of the very few insects adapted to a fully marine existence. It lays eggs on floating debris including feathers and seaweed.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the only insects to have colonized the open ocean and can be found thousands of kilometers from the nearest land, surviving storms and wave action.