Embioptera

The Embioptera are an order of insects, commonly known as webspinners.

Embioptera Temporal range: Jurassic – Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Infraclass:	Neoptera
Order:	Embioptera
Families
There are two suborders and ten families

Webspinners are a small group of mostly tropical and subtropical insects. They are in the subclass Pterygota. The group first appeared during the Jurassic and is well represented in Cretaceous amber. The common name webspinner comes from the insects' ability to spin silk from structures on their front legs. They use the silk to make a web-like pouch or gallery in which they live. They feed on leaf litter, moss, bark and lichen.

Occasionally they arrive in temperate countries, usually as passengers on cargo.

Embioptera Media

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  Neoperla clymene, Plecoptera

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  Stagmomantis carolina usda hor

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  Gryllidae (cricket)

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  Stick insect

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  Embia major, Embioptera

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  Drawings of Embia major winged male, male nymph and adult female "from the Himalayas" by Augustus Daniel Imms, 1913

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  The male's wings are stiffened and inflated as hemolymph fills sinus veins for flight; a crosswise crease allows them to fold in half to prevent damage when the insect runs backwards in a gallery.

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  Silk tunnels made by insects of the order Embioptera, on a stone wall.