Bug on my neck!

October 5, 2012 6:00 AM

What is this bug? It was abut half an inch long, I found it crawling out of my hair onto my neck. Gah!?

I am in the Cleveland area at the moment if that matters at all.

posted by French Fry to science & nature (12 answers total)

looks like a silverfish
posted by buggzzee23 at 6:13 AM on October 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

Silverfish -- harmless to you, potentially damaging to your books 'n' stuff.
posted by drlith at 6:14 AM on October 5, 2012

Looks like a silverfish.
posted by peakcomm at 6:14 AM on October 5, 2012

Just a silverfish.
posted by cashman at 6:14 AM on October 5, 2012

Looks like a tiny silverfish to me... which I've always been told is one of the better bugs to see in your apartment, as they eat all the other bugs.

So hey, at least you probably don't have lice!
posted by Grither at 6:15 AM on October 5, 2012

SILVERFISH
posted by cashman at 6:15 AM on October 5, 2012

That is a young firebrat or silverfish. Probably a firebrat.

They are harmless little insects that eat pretty much anything. You can't do much about them. They are quite stupid and like to run in circles when scared.

I like them.
posted by colinshark at 6:15 AM on October 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

Silverfish!
They're a pretty common household bug. We'll get a few occasionally, but they've never required any active response.
posted by mercredi at 6:16 AM on October 5, 2012

They are also one of the few living things that my cats are willing to eat. I assume they are tasty.
posted by colinshark at 6:17 AM on October 5, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yup, my first thought was silverfish! Icky as anything, but harmless...
posted by DoubleLune at 6:22 AM on October 5, 2012

Looks like a flesh-eating termite earwig. No, just a silverfish. Firebrats are usually a darker color. Silverfish eat polysaccharides, not other insects. They are not especially useful, and may in rare cases become a problem.
posted by Nomyte at 8:25 AM on October 5, 2012

Thanks everyone, I will continue to be very grossed out but discontinue worrying.
posted by French Fry at 8:51 AM on October 5, 2012