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Promoting Natural & Cultural History
TYPE: | Image |
DATE: | 19th December 1755 |
AUTHOR: | Viveka Hansen |
PHOTOGRAPHER: | Electronic source (Wikimedia Commons) |
REFERENCE(S): | • Encyclopædia Britannica (online) https://www.britannica.com/animal/silverfish Silverfish, insect • Hansen, Viveka, Textilia Linnaeana – Global 18th Century Textile Traditions & Trade, London 2017 (pp. 78-79). |
ADDED: | 12/07/2020 |
iFELLOW: | Viveka Hansen |
JOURNALS ETC: | Linnaeus Apostles Global Science & Adventure, Volume 3, Book 3, Page 1476 |
CONTENT: | Lepisma saccharina [argentea], commonly named silverfish, was the tiny insect of about 1cm in length, which caused Daniel Rolander much trouble. Being on the look-out for the insect was undoubtedly important during long periods at sea, as it thrives in damp conditions. The silverfish easily finds its way into every nook and cranny and can cause a great deal of damage as it chooses to attack clothes, book-bindings, paper and everything else that a travelling naturalist carried in his baggage. Rolander went even further in his examinations of this insect and established that it was originally American, but spread easily via ships as it thrived in any climate. He studied it on his homeward voyage too and discovered it on arrival in Europe as well as onboard ship between the Netherlands and Sweden. It flourished even in Stockholm and it was confirmed that the insect here continued to ruin both paper and textiles of every kind. The in-depth observation about the silverfish on 19 December 1755 in Paramaribo must have been a revised version however, due to that he included events which took place after this date. |
GEO-LOCATION: | WGS84(5.63058, -55.21669) |