Webspinners of Zihuatanejo

ORDER EMBIOPTERA

Oligotoma Webspinners

Genus Oligotoma

• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

• Insects (Class Insecta)​

• Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

• Webspinners (Order Embioptera)

• Suborder Neoembiodea

• Infraorder Oligotomorpha

• Family Oligotomidae

• Genus Oligotoma

Oligotoma is a genus of webspinners (order Embioptera) known for their unique ability to produce silk from glands in their forelegs. These insects are subsocial, living communally in intricate silken tunnels and galleries which they continuously expand and rarely leave. They are small, ranging in length from 4 to 15 mm, with long, narrow, and highly flexible bodies. Coloration is typically brown to black.