Pheromone-based arrestment behaviour of three species of Thysanura (Lepismatidae)

Aggregations of the common silverfish, Lepisma saccharina L., giant silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudata (Escherich), and firebrat, Thermobia domestica (Packard), are mediated by non-volatile, species-specific pheromones. In dual-choice olfactometer experiments, filter paper previously exposed to male, female, or juvenile L. saccharina or C. longicaudata arrested conspecifics regardless of developmental stage or gender. Lepisma saccharina did not respond to the C. longicaudata pheromone, nor to the T. domestica pheromone. However, C. longicaudata responded to the pheromones of both L. saccharina and T. domestica, whereas T. domestica responded to the C. longicaudata but not L. saccharina pheromone. Female T. domestica were significantly arrested by (i) loose, insect-derived debris brushed from shelters, (ii) a frass mixture manually separated from loose debris, and (iii) specific amber-type frass manually separated from the frass mixture, but did not respond to other types of shelter debris or insect-altered cellulose, suggesting that T. domestica pheromone is present in amber-type frass.