The Curious Webspinner Insect Knits a Cozy Home | Deep Look
To protect herself and her eggs, female webspinners shoot super-fine silk from their front feet. They weave the strands to build a shelter that serves as a tent, umbrella and invisibility cloak. But shooting silk from her feet requires her to moonwalk to get around.
SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! http://goo.gl/8NwXqt
Please support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/deeplook
DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
---
With the holidays just around the corner, it’s that time of year when you’re ready to burn off Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas cookie calories by heading outdoors for a hike. Maybe you’ve noticed what looks like spider webs woven in between weeds alongside the trail, or poking out from under rocks or draped across logs.
But take a closer look – those webs might actually not be spider webs. A lot of them are silken habitats, known as 'galleries,' created by insects called webspinners.
---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:
https://www.kqed.org/science/1949380/
--- Where do webspinners live?
You find them living in a variety of habitats all over the world, from humid tropical rain forests to dry, hotter areas.
--- Do only adults spin silk?
Actually, everybody spins silk, the males, females and the nymphs. It’s completely unique for insects to have that ability.
--- Who is briefly featured in the episode turning over the log?
While only her hands make a short cameo in the video, Janice Edgerly-Rooks, is a professor of biology at Santa Clara University. She’s been studying these insects for most of her career and was invaluable to us in the production of our episode.
---+ For more information:
Janice Edgerly-Rooks’ at Santa Clara University
https://www.scu.edu/cas/biology/faculty/edgerly-rooks/
---+ More Great Deep Look episodes:
It’s a Bug’s Life: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdKlciEDdCQA1MVDuyxZPVloYV3wpunMO
---+ Shoutout!
🏆Congratulations 🏆to the following fans on our YouTube community tab for correctly identifying the insects *besides webspinners* that produce silk with their front feet: the balloon flies of the Empididae family, such as Hilara maura.
João Farminhão
TheWhiteScatterbug
Ryan Stuart
Anthony Nguyen
henry chu
biozcw
---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)!
Alice Kwok
Allen
Amber Miller
Aurora
Aurora Mitchell
Bethany
Bill Cass
Blanca Vides
Burt Humburg
Caitlin McDonough
Cameron
Carlos Carrasco
Chris B Emrick
Chris Murphy
Cindy McGill
Companion Cube
Cory
Daisuke Goto
Daniel Weinstein
David Deshpande
David Esperanza
Dean Skoglund
Edwin Rivas
Egg-Roll
Elizabeth Ann Ditz
Geidi Rodriguez
Gerardo Alfaro
Guillaume Morin
Ivan Alexander
Jacob Stone
Jane Orbuch
JanetFromAnotherPlanet
Jeanne Sommer
Joao Ascensao
johanna reis
Johnnyonnyful
Joshua Murallon Robertson
Justin Bull
Kallie Moore
Karen Reynolds
Katherine Schick
Kathleen R Jaroma
Kendall Rasmussen
Kristy Freeman
KW
Kyle Fisher
Laura Sanborn
Laurel Przybylski
Leonhardt Wille
Levi Cai
Louis O'Neill
lunafaaye
Mary Truland
monoirre
Natalie Banach
Nathan Wright
Nicolette Ray
Nikita
Noreen Herrington
Nousernamepls
Osbaldo Olvera
Pamela Parker
PM Daeley
raspberry144mb
riceeater
Richard Shalumov
Rick Wong
Robert Amling
Robert Warner
Roberta K Wright
Sarah Khalida Mohamad
Sayantan Dasgupta
Shelley Pearson Cranshaw
Shirley Washburn
Silvan Wendland
Simone Galavazi
Sonia Tanlimco
Stefficael Uebelhart
SueEllen McCann
Supernovabetty
Syniurge
Tea Torvinen
TierZoo
Titania Juang
Trae Wright
Two Box Fish
WhatzGames
---+ Follow KQED Science and Deep Look:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeplook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kqedscience/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kqedscience
KQED Science on kqed.org: http://www.kqed.org/science
Facebook Watch: https://www.facebook.com/DeepLookPBS/
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.
Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, which is also supported by the National Science Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.
#webspinners #insect #deeplook