Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2023 June 19

= June 19 =

What are the c. 1 millimeter long pale bugs on indoor paint?
In NYC. What do they eat? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 12:51, 19 June 2023 (UTC)


 * They could be Silverfish. They primarily eat paper, decaying wood, and pantry items like flour. They are commonly seen out out in the open during the humid summer as the dry air during winter keeps them hidden in places where there is moisture. Thriley (talk) 13:25, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Way too small to be adult silverfish. I've killed them but luckily there aren't enough to cause noticeable book damage. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 13:40, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Could they not be nymphs? They can be quite small. Are you able to see how many legs they have? Thriley (talk) 13:44, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * If I see one again I'll try to count them. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 13:46, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Actually those were centipedes, not silverfish. Which explains the lack of book damage. I wonder why I saw centipedes in at least 3 different neighborhoods but even when I didn't kill them cause someone said they were book-eating silverfish they never seemed to reproduce. Usually when you see even one roach if you don't do anything (i.e. poison, squishing, food reduction) you'll eventually have many, why don't the centipedes ever have a population explosion? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 14:09, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * If they are that small, they are nymphs and unable to reproduce till they mature. --Lambiam 19:02, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I've seen both adult and juvenile centipedes, maybe that species only eats outdoor stuff and doesn't stay long enough to find opposite sex adult(s) and bang. They're a bit darker than these extremely tiny things but not very dark. Come to think of it I think I've seen them (maybe neither centipedes or silverfish nor aphids) in books too but maybe that's just a "hide when not hungry/thirsty" instinct? Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 19:37, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * @Sagittarian Milky Way Centipedes are predators, consequently they cannot experience a "population explosion" on the scale that cockroaches do. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 20:27, 19 June 2023 (UTC)


 * Could also be Planococcus citri or an aphid of some sort. A picture would help. 41.23.55.195 (talk) 13:35, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Smaller than adult P. citri, and not as pale as and more slender than the Planococcus citri article photo. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 13:44, 19 June 2023 (UTC)

Finding Accepted Sources Of Info
I need to find more information about Soviet’s Turbojet Train, also known as “High-speed Laboratory Railcar” or “SVL”. Thanks, Brevqvist (talk) 12:51, 19 June 2023 (UTC)


 * Have you already read Turbojet_train and references 6–9? Shantavira|feed me 15:51, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I used 8 and 9 but the rest 6 and 7 were unfortunately in Russian. Thanks, Brevqvist Brevqvist (talk) 15:55, 19 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Enter the URL into Google translate and it will give you a link to a translated version of the page. catslash (talk) 23:04, 20 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you! Brevqvist (talk) 08:43, 21 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Strangely, it's not working for me today - it worked ok yesterday. Still, you can click on 'История' and then copy-and-paste the entire text of the page into Google Translate. catslash (talk) 15:22, 21 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I did that actually and now I have more info and sources than earlier, thank you! :D Brevqvist (talk) 21:48, 21 June 2023 (UTC)