Caroline Owman
Since their establishment, museums have battled silverfish and other “iconoclastic insects”, even as the storage of unused objects has created ideal conditions for such pests to thrive. In recent years, the long-tailed silverfish ( Ctenolepisma longicaudatum ) has “invaded Europe”, and has gained worldwide attention as a cumberston vermin in museums, archives and libraries. Preventing damage to objects requires a deeper understanding of silverfish – approaching them not merely as pests to eradicate but as biological beings with distinct diets, behaviours and life cycles. Multispecies studies offer theoretical and methodological tools for developing such understanding, encouraging “arts of attentiveness” and even “arts of inclusion”. In this view, other-than-humans become not only research objects but also research partners. Collaborating – conceptually and practically – with animals, plants, microbes and diverse life forms enables new ways of thinking about the “multispecies societies” that shape both our worlds and our heritage institutions. This chapter explores how thinking with the smallest creatures can lead us in unexpected directions, through the multispecies museum and beyond.