#webspinners

[serenadeformice]

spiders get a lot of credit for making huge complex webs, but y'know who never gets enough credit for their work? the humble WEBSPINNER! an insect of the order Embioptera, they're one of the very few animals on our earth that produce SILK!

images of insects (no spiders!) and fun facts under the cut!

their closest well-known relatives are the phasmids, which might be apparent from their long body plan. Take a look at that cutie. See those big dumb front hands? those enlarged tarsomeres have their silk-producing glands, and to see one in action is really fun. they tap tap tap, move their hands over, tap tap tap, and string their silk along to make their webbing. they live in colonies are called Galleries, which are dark warrens of tunnels so narrow that their inhabitants often can't turn around in them, so they have extremely well-adaptive senses for walking backward and figuring out their environments through touch! this link here is a beautiful demonstration of their unique movement and weaving techniques:

"The Curious Webspinner Insect Knits a Cozy Home", by Deep Look, PBS Digital Studios https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_JP3RbJ8zk

that video also covers how sensitive their front legs are to going off at unexpected times. most insects use their forelegs to grab their antennae for cleaning, but because of their silk glands' aforementioned sensitivity, webspinners don't use their front legs to clean their antennae! they fold their antennae down under them, using their mouthparts and the ground to keep them in place for cleaning.

in the grooves of this stone wall they've webbed it up to make their beautiful moist, dark little homes.

They're also dedicated moms! Females live gregariously, in large colonies caring for their eggs. males wake up, reproduce, then die. one species, Rhagadochir virgo, wraps their eggs in a mix of silk and lichen to ensure their babies have a little meal when they wake up! isn't that swell?

Webspinners are strange and underappreciated hard workers. i adore them so much, and i hope this has made you adore them maybe a little bit more too!

[rancid-zinnia-onthepatio]

how i felt reading webspinners for solely mysterio (even skipping the subplot) and giggling when his face was shown

[swampgh0stt]

Fym “nuh uh”?

[hollowsart]

I forgot to add webspinners to that Mysterio kissing ask, so here it is:

Webspinners!Mysterio: This man is confirmed to have needed his helmet to give him the confidence to call up his crush in the comic. This man is a quiet and bashful, hopeless romantic at heart. But in costume, he can get a bit carried away and excited. He'll need some real backbone of a partner to reign that side of him in. (Knock him back to reality)

In costume, he's dipping his partner for a kiss. The type of kiss varies, as does the intensity of the dip, but if he's feeling particularly bold, he'll go for tongue and a deep dip. If he's out of costume, he may simply prefer to hold the back of the neck/head and waist to give a short yet passionate kiss in a boost of confidence. Usually, out of costume, he'll prefer to just cup a hand on the cheek and give a chaste kiss.

However, this is all post-Webspinners. The man is 32, and he's never been kissed before the comic's storyline (bless him). He wouldn't be a very experienced kisser. He'd likely be experimenting and trying to figure it out. But I imagine he'd be a relatively fast learner. He lives to please and impress, and he's determined to do just that.. if he could simply step outside his head for a moment. Lol

There's a lot to say about this one. But this is all I have to offer on this guy.

[smashedpages]

Rest in peace, Michael Zulli.

[the-letter-why-in-parenthesis]

*leaning in close against a rotting log and muttering solemnly under my breath* Oh Embioptera sp., we’re really in it now

[jaybug-jabbers]

I want to chatter about bugs todayyyyy

So, last night I was on my usual evening walk, staring at the ground as you do (keeping an eye out for any bugs I didn't recognize, or any Very Good Toads or Froggos). And it's terribly dim and I see a fast-moving critter I think is an earwig, but then I see it pop up into the air for a bit before quickly landing again, and I think ho, this probably isn't an earwig. I snap a quick photo with my phone using the flash and when I get home I see it's this little dude. And I look him up and learn it's a webspinner.

I was very excited since I'd never seen it before. Looked up info about them and they are a fascinating species. Very elusive little things that normally live in damp hidy-holes inside networks of webs they spin. They live in loose colonies and they actually spin silk from their front legs! Here's a cute mini-documentary about them. This one here is a male since it has wings. He won't live long, he's just looking to mate and die.

Anyway that was super cool to find. Another story I have from yesterday, well apparently about a month ago my mom brought some potted plants into her bedroom. And yesterday her bathroom counter was covered in dozens of itty bitty baby mantises. She'd accidentally brought a mantis egg case into her room!

Less than a quarter-inch long little babbies. I carefully released them outside in the garden. God they're cute. Was tempted to raise some but I don't know how to raise the little guys, I would need to do proper research first, so I just let them go.

Speaking of the garden, my brother saw a grasshopper on the squash plant the other day:

Most likely a gray bird grasshopper. They're quite pretty to look at.

The cat also found a grub in the house (guessing it hitch-hiked on mom's potted plants as well)

An image search says this is a cutworm of some sort, probably a black cutworm. Guess I shouldn't have released it near the garden lol but oh well, it was in the tambark only slightly near the vegetables, it's probably done feeding anyway and just wants to nap and metamorphize. Probably.

Also here's another shot of the very pale mantises I find during my nightwalks on the sidewalks, looking for bugs drawn to the streetlights.

Okay that's enough bugs for one post

[todaysbug]

December 5th, 2023

Wisley Webspinner (Aposthonia ceylonica)

Distribution: Usually found in tropical regions of Asia and Africa, including Madagascar, Mauritius, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Laos and Thailand.

Habitat: Found on the bark of deciduous and coniferous trees or on the hanging roots of tropical plants; present in forests, parks, plantations and orchards.

Diet: Larvae and female adults are herbivorous; males do not eat.

Description: A. ceylonica is a species belonging to the order Embioptera, better known as webspinners. These insects have silk glands on their forelegs, allowing them to create silk galleries. These nests serve two purposes: protecting the webspinners from predators, and reducing the chance of being swept away by the heavy rains and winds typical of their tropical environment. Despite fasting, males of this species also produce silk.

This species gained some notoriety in 2019, when a small population was found colonizing a warm greenhouse in the Royal Horticulture Society's garden in Surrey, England. Its introduction marked the first new order of insects found in the UK since 1909. Due to their tropical distribution, these webspinners are limited to the greenhouse and would very likely perish if they were to venture outside, meaning there's little risk of them becoming an invasive species in the region.

(Image by Sebastian Büsse)

[schadhauser]

a lil webspinner commission I got to do recently!

[jenfoundabug]

Oligotoma nigra, or black webspinner Northern California These interesting insects spend the vast majority of their lives living in networks of tunnels made out of silk. The silk protects the webspinners and their eggs and allows them to store food. They like to build their nests under things such as rocks or logs, which offer extra protection from the elements and predators.

Only the adult males have wings. After their final molt (incomplete metamorphosis), the males stop eating. They fly away, and die soon after (hopefully) finding a mate. Strangely, they still have mouthparts, but only use them to hold the female during mating.

[ratcandy]

everyone shut up . welcome to

[browsethestacks]

Vintage Record - The Amazing Spider-Man: From Beyond the Grave - A Rockomic! by Ron Dante And The Webspinners

Art by John Romita Sr.

Buddah Records (BDS 5119) (1972)

From ha.com...

Overall Grade 6.5. Ron Dante, lead singer of The Archies ("Sugar, Sugar") lends his voice to this LP, a joint venture of Buddah Records and Marvel Comics. Guest stars include Doctor Strange, the Vulture, the Lizard, the Green Goblin, Kingpin, and even Aunt May! John Romita provided the cover artwork.

Listen To The Album On Spotify

[swampgh0stt]

I am on my knees, extending my hand in marriage

[hollowsart]

we don't talk about that daredevil comic, but out of context:

I'm still thinking about how big brained and based the artist was for drawing Beck this THICK.

Love me a man built like a brick.

[feral-babe]

Webspinners always make me think of backwards man

[onenicebugperday]

@spitbites submitted: A friend of mine found this little buggie in their house in South central Arizona. It kinda resembles a silverfish or something similar to an earwig. My guess is it's still in its larval form. Any idea what it might be?

Ahhhh really cool find! Not sure I've ever had one submitted before. It's a webspinner, which is a type of bug in a not-very-well-known order of insects, Embioptera. Let's zoom for full enjoyment:

Oohhhhhhhh nice! They're called webspinners because they have silk glands in their front legs. I'm guessing this is an adult female black webspinner - only adult males have wings :)