Country diary: A kitchen ‘pest’ that predates dinosaurs

‘Silverfish can cause serious degradation to books, archival documents, wallpaper, upholstery and clothing if present in large numbers.’ Photograph: Phil Gates

I was in the kitchen about to cut up a drumhead cabbage when I noticed an unusually lustrous bead of water rolling down the side of the violet-hued brassica. There was something strange about the way the droplet moved, but it wasn’t until it slipped off and began shimmering across the chopping board that I realised it was a silverfish.

These primitive, wingless insects belong to the order Zygentoma, an ancient group with a lineage that dates back more than 400m years, long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The fact that they have remained virtually unchanged but now thrive in human dwellings is a testament to their adaptability and resilience.