Giant Web Spinner vs Tanbark Borer

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Giant Web Spinner Tanbark Borer
Scientific Name Clothoda longicauda Phymatodes testaceus
Order Embioptera Coleoptera
Family Clothodidae Cerambycidae
Size 15.0-25.0 mm 8-17 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions South America Europe, North Africa, introduced to North America
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Giant Web Spinner

One of the largest web spinners, found in tropical South America. It has elongate cerci and builds extensive silk tunnel systems on trees.

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Did You Know?

The family Clothodidae is considered the most primitive living web spinner lineage, dating back over 100 million years.

Tanbark Borer

A small, highly variable cerambycid ranging from pale yellow to dark brown or violet. It breeds under the bark of recently dead oaks across Europe and North America. Adults are nocturnal and come freely to lights.

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Did You Know?

Color variation in this species is so extreme that over a dozen color forms have been named, all belonging to one species.