Britain’s first new class of insects in a century: Hundreds of silk producing ‘webspinners’ native to the Mediterranean have arrived on imported plants and are now thriving
- The webspinners may have arrived on orchid roots in Surrey
- Found by Dr Andy Salisbury, they aren’t thought to pose a threat to UK wildlife
- An RHS spokesman said the insects are being ‘left’ in the orchid house
- They’re the first order to be found in the UK in a 100 years after stick insects
A new class of insects has arrived on Britain’s shores by hitching a ride on imported plants.
Hundreds of webspinners, which are native to the Mediterranean and may have reached the UK on orchid roots, have established a thriving colony at an orchid collection in Surrey.
Their arrival, first noticed last summer, is not thought to be a threat to native wildlife as they are unlikely to survive outdoors.
A picture of one of the webspinners. The two fifths of an inch long insects (one centimetre) were found on the roots of an orchid in RHS Wisley Gardens, Surrey
Dr Andy Salisbury, principal entomologist at RHS Garden Wisley, where the colony is based, found the hitchhikers when he noticed strange webs on the plants roots.
He said: ‘It’s certainly an exciting discovery.
‘If I’d been told I’d one day be adding an entirely new insect order to British fauna I wouldn’t have believed it.
‘The confirmation of a new grouping of insects in Britain is evidence of the role that globalisation is and will continue to play on what is found in our gardens.’
The colony may have arrived in the UK on orchid roots, and has spread in their orchid service house to 10 different plants, although they haven’t damaged any of them
Dr Andy Salsibury, principal entomologist at RHS Garden Wisley, said he was ‘excited’ at the discovery. He told the BBC that the insects aren’t a threat as they are unlikely to survive outdoors
He told the BBC that they had established a ‘full thriving colony’.
He also said that as they are tropical insects they are unlikely to survive outdoors, but they may be on other plant collections inside greenhouses.
It is not known when the colony arrived, but they haven’t caused any damage.
A spokesman for RHS Wisley said: ‘We are leaving them alone.
‘They are not damaging so no control is to be taken and as a non-native we are not encouraging them either.
‘The colony is in the orchid service house (behind the scenes) and so not part of the display, and there are no plans to make it so.’
WHAT ARE WEBSPINNERS?
The insects live in tropical environments on the Mediterranean but can survive in greenhouses in colder areas
Web-spinners are so called because they make silk-lined tunnels to protect themselves.
They spin silk from glands in a swollen joint of their front legs. No other insects are known to have silk glands in this position.
The name Embioptera is derived from the Greek embio, meaning lively and ptera, meaning wings, and refers to the fluttery movement of the two pairs of wings seen in the male. The females have no wings, and some males may have no wings either.
They look a little like earwigs or termites, with small eyes, thread-like antennae and long bodies. Unlike earwigs, the tail structures (cerci) are soft and jointed, and the wings are darker than those of termites. The head is broad and carries biting jaws.
Web-spinners live in groups of webs or silk tunnels under leaf litter. Each tunnel contains a female and her eggs and nymphs, which she protects, in some cases giving them pre-chewed plant material to eat. She feeds on plant material, whilst the males probably don’t eat and die soon after they mate (when they might get eaten by the female).
Source: Amateur Entomological Society
Webspinners, part of the order Embioptera, are the only insects to produce a silk webbing from their front legs.
They are the latest order of insects to be found in the UK after stick insects were added a century ago.
The species found in the UK, called Aposthonia ceylonica, is about two fifths of an inch long (one centimetre), and lives in a colony on the hanging roots of tropical plants such as bromeliads.
The webspinners have formed a colony at the orchid service house at RHS Gardens Wisley. They have spread to 10 plants and have been left alone at present. They are not in an area where the public could see them
They live in silken tunnels to protect themselves and eat a range of fungal and algal growths, lichen and rotting plant material.
Females are also known to show maternal care, looking after their young until they are almost adults.
Only the adult males are winged and usually the only individuals that leave the webbing.
Males, however, do not feed once they mature and die soon after mating.
Webspinners are also known to be intolerant of cooler climates, and so do not occur naturally in Britain.
The webbing means they can be easily confused with spiders.
