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Embioptera - Webspinners

Embia major

Classification

 Kingdom: Animalia
 Phylum: Arthropoda
 Subphylum: Hexapoda
 Class: Insecta
 Order: Embioptera

Embia majorWebspinners are found and tropical the subtropical environments. There are around 200 species in the world. Only nine species are found in North America. Webspinners are the only insects that can produce silk! They have glands in their front legs that produce the silk. They use the silk to build nests and tunnels under leaf litter or bark. Webspinners are herbivores and eat plants. They have powerful rear legs and can run backwards! They spend most of their time living in groups in their silken tunnels. Only the males in this order have wings.