What do web spinners look like?

Web spinners belong to the Order Embioptera.

What do web spinners look like?

Size:

• 4 mm - 15 mm in length.

Body:

• Long and column-like.
• Appears hard.

Antennae:

• Bead-like.
• Never longer than body.

Eyes:

• Usually small, well separated, and often kidney-shaped.

Mouthparts:

• For chewing or munching.
• Held forwards at rest.

Wings:

• Two pairs (males only) if present.
• Both pairs membranous, similar in size and spatula shaped.
• Both pairs have few wing veins but the wing maybe pigmented giving it the appearance that it has veins.
• At rest the wings are held flat to body, overlap and do not extend to tip of abdomen.

Limbs:

• Six legs
• Bottom segment of front tarsi (toes) greatly enlarged and bulbous. This segment contains numerous glands for silk production.

Abdomen tip:

• Two short cerci (tails) with two segments.
• In males right cerci differs in size and shape to the left.

Where are web-spinners found?

• They are confined to silken nests, which have many tunnels.
• The nests are spun on bark surfaces, and rocks or among crevices and leaf litter.
• Due to their secretive nature they are rarely seen.

What do web-spinners do?

• They form large colonies sharing living quarters much like humans share an apartment block.
• When disturbed, they run backward into silken tunnels. Their wings can flex over their head to allow backward movement into the tunnels.
• They are weak fliers that flutter; insect blood (hemolymph) is pumped into the upper veins to stiffen the wings during flight. Males tend to only fly when in search of a reproductive mate.
• They primarily feed on dead and decaying plant material but are known to feed on living lichen and moss.
• They are active during the night and are attracted to light.

What looks similar?

• Nothing due to their unique anatomical features and lifestyle.