Italian entomologist, best remembered for his pioneering work in polyembryony, the development of more than one individual from a single fertilized egg cell.

During the late 1930s Silvestri discovered that this type of reproduction occurs in the species Litomatix truncatellus of the insect order Hymenoptera. His finding, resulting from a close analysis of the reproductive stages, cell division, and egg structure of these parasitic hymenopterans, attracted the attention of many biologists because of its implications for the nature of the egg and the causes of multiple births.

Silvestri undertook various other important studies during his career. Notable among these activities was his investigation of the morphology and biology of the Termitidae, the most highly evolved family of termites. Equally significant was his comparative study of the form and structure of the millipede and the centipede.