Common Web Spinner vs Plantain Gall Weevil

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Common Web Spinner Plantain Gall Weevil
Scientific Name Embia major Mecinus pyraster
Order Embioptera Coleoptera
Family Embiidae Curculionidae
Size 10.0-15.0 mm 3-4 mm
Habitat Woodlands Grasslands
Diet Gall Makers Gall Makers
Regions Europe, Africa Europe
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Common Web Spinner

A dark brown web spinner that constructs silk galleries on tree bark and under stones. Males are winged while females are always wingless.

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Did You Know?

Web spinners produce silk from glands in their enlarged front feet, the only insects to spin silk with their tarsi.

Plantain Gall Weevil

A small cylindrical weevil that causes stem galls on plantain. Larvae develop inside swollen plant stems. An inconspicuous but very common species.

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Did You Know?

Causes distinctive swellings on plantain stems that are easy to find even when the tiny weevil itself is not visible.