Bug FAQSaunders' Webspinner
Oligotoma saundersii · Order: Embioptera · Family: Oligotomidae
Also called: Webspinner, Saunders Embiid
Adult male Saunders' webspinner has narrow dark wings and a dark brown-black body with a pale head, while females are wingless. They live in hidden silken tubes under bark or in crevices in humid places and originated in southern Asia, now spread throughout the tropics.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males are dark brown-black with a slight yellowish tinge near limb joints and a paler head, distinguishing them from O. nigra.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adult males have long narrow wings; adult females are wingless and cannot fly.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They build concealed silken tubes in crevices or under bark in humid environments.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
In captivity they were offered dry goldfish food; males typically do not feed.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Males reach maturity in about four months, and a new batch of larvae appears roughly two months later.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Saunders' webspinner is native to southern Asia and has spread around the tropics via human activity.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Females and nymphs look similar to O. nigra and are best identified by the presence of a male.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 5 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, California, Hawaii, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell a male Saunders' webspinner from similar species?
The male is dark brown-black with a pale head and narrow wings, unlike the similar O. nigra.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does this bug live?
It lives in hidden silken tubes under bark or in crevices in humid spots.
Source: Wikipedia
What does it eat?
In the lab it was given dry goldfish food, but males normally do not feed.
Source: Wikipedia
How long does it take to become an adult?
Males mature in about four months, and larvae appear about two months after the adult is seen.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Oligotomidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligotoma_saundersii
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.