Embioptera sp. (order)

Unidentified webspinner at Cook, ACT

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Identification history

	Embioptera sp. (order)	12 Feb 2018	KimPullen
	Unidentified	11 Feb 2018	CathB

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User's notes

A webspinner caught in a spider web more than 2 metres up a brick wall. Originally seen 21 Jan and then collected 10 Feb. When I tried to remove some web to photograph it, I saw what looked like a wing (images 3 and 4). What might be the same wing is also visible, before disturbance, at the bottom of image 2. Could this explain its height up the wall? Might wings be shed like those of ants? Image 4 includes another individual retrieved from another web, which is closer in size to all others seen (now 6). Graph paper squares are 2X2 mm.

3 comments

KimPullen wrote:

13 Feb 2018

The wing could be from the webspinner, but it is difficult to see the vein pattern that would confirm it as of this kind of insect. Only males have wings, and then not in all species. If you have seen six then you must have a colony there or nearby; they live under a sheet of silk, usually on tree trunks or rocks.

HarveyPerkins wrote:

6 Feb 2019

To me, the wing has neither the right overall shape nor venation to match that of an embiopteran. I suspect it is the wing of another insect that was caught in the web. But it's intriguing that you have such a noticeable population of embiopteran. Lucky you.

CathB wrote:

6 Feb 2019

I see them quite often now, both inside and outside the house, day or night. I also find their silk tunnels under plant pots etc. I've even watched one spinning silk with its front legs. But I've never seen a winged one.

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