Summary
Webspinners produce silk not from their mouths but from their front feet, weaving cozy tunnels to live and raise young in. Deep Look reveals this rare insect and the silk galleries it knits across bark.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
A webspinner has silk glands in its front legs, so it can 'knit' as it walks. The silk tunnels shelter it from weather and predators -- a home made by a body structure.
- Where does a webspinner make its silk, and why is that unusual?
- How do the silk tunnels help the insect survive?
- Why might living inside a covered tunnel be safer than being out in the open?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: silk, gland, shelter, structure.
Try it: Drape a cloth 'tunnel' over two books. Write how a covered walkway keeps a small animal hidden and dry.