A Multiscale Characterization of Two Tropical Embiopteran Species: Nano- and Microscale Features of Silk, Silk-Spinning Behavior, and Environmental Correlates of their Distributions

Environmental Entomology
Samantha ShenoyJanice S Edgerly

Abstract

Embioptera display the unique ability to spin silk with their front feet to create protective domiciles. Their body form is remarkably uniform throughout the order, perhaps because they all live within the tight confines of silken tubes. This study contributes to an understanding of the ecology of Embioptera, an order that is rarely studied in the field. We conducted a census to quantify the habitats of two species with overlapping distributions on the tropical island of Trinidad in a search for characteristics that might explain their distinct ecologies. One species, Antipaluria urichi (Saussure) (Embioptera: Clothodidae), lives in larger colonies with more expansive silk in habitats throughout the island, especially in the rainforest of the Northern Range Mountains. The other, Pararhagadochir trinitatis (Saussure) (Embioptera: Scelembiidae), was found only in lowland locations. We quantified silk-spinning behavior and productivity of the two species and found that A. urichi spins thicker silk sheets per individual and emphasizes spin-steps that function to create a domicile that is more expansive than that produced by P. trinitatis. Their silks also interact differently when exposed to water: the smaller-diameter silk fibers ...Continue Reading

References

Nov 11, 2008·Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology·Matthew A CollinCheryl Y Hayashi
Jul 16, 2010·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·A SensenigT A Blackledge
Apr 12, 2016·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Thomas Michael Osborn PoppJeffery L Yarger
Mar 7, 2019·Royal Society Open Science·Grace Y StokesJanice S Edgerly

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