Rhagadochir virgo

Rhagadochir virgo is a species of webspinner, an insect in the order Embiidina, also known as Embioptera. This species is native to the Republic of the Congo in tropical West Africa.[1]

Rhagadochir virgo
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Embiidina
Family:
Scelembiidae
Genus:
Rhagadochir
Species:
R. virgo
Binomial name
Rhagadochir virgo
(Ross, 1960)[1]

Ecology

Only females of this species have been found, the insects reproducing by parthenogenesis. Perhaps because of their close inter-relatedness, these insects are notably gregarious, crowding together in their silken tunnels. The insects spin their silk in a co-ordinated fashion and may move to new quarters in an organised group, a behaviour not observed elsewhere among members of this order. A female will lay a batch of eggs and wrap them in silk, often incorporating lichen pieces into the silk covering, which may be a form of providing food for the nymphs when they hatch.[2]

References
  1. "Rhagadochir virgo (Ross, 1960)". Embioptera Species File. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  2. Foottit, Robert G.; Adler, Peter H. (2018). Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society. Wiley. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-118-94559-9.
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