Black Webspinner (Oligotoma nigra)

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crawdoogie Upland, CA(Zone 9b) Nov 09, 2015

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crawdoogie Upland, CA(Zone 9b) Nov 09, 2015

These unusual little insects are not pests! Their food includes leaf litter, moss, and lichen. The common name webspinner comes from the insects' unique ability to spin silk from structures on their front legs. They use the silk to make web lined tunnels and chambers in which they live. Only the males have wings. Other characteristics are long highly segmented antennae and unique "popeye looking" front legs that contain the silk producing glands. On their rear end is a pair of finger like "cersi" which are highly sensitive and allow them to feel what is behind them as they move backwards.

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