Behind-the-Scenes: Webspinners + More Marvelous Insect Moms
Added 2025-05-09 22:25:45 +0000 UTCHi Deep Peeps! It’s Mother’s Day this weekend and we’ve got insects that are marvelous moms on our minds, like webspinners. Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at filming webspinners by Jenny Oh, who produced this episode.
“You’re more likely to spot webspinners in early spring or summer, nibbling on lichen, dead leaves and moss underneath their silken canopies in areas that aren’t too wet or shady,” says Jenny.
“Janice Edgerly-Rooks, a professor of biology at Santa Clara University, was invaluable in helping us find them at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park in San José, California. And her husband, Edward, took photos of us as we peeked under logs and searched for webspinners in their natural habitat. That’s him with an insect aspirator collecting a few. We also went back to Edgerly-Rooks’ lab to film the webspinners that she’s collected from all over the world for her research.”
Check more photos from filming our webspinner episode below and watch our webspinner episode and more marvelous insect moms doing what they do best: building homes, giving birth and feeding their young in this special playlist.
We wish all the moms out there a very Happy Mother’s Day! 🌺
From left to right: Janice Edgerly-Rooks, professor of biology at Santa Clara University, Deep Look producer Jenny Oh and Josh Cassidy, Deep Look’s lead producer and cinematographer, are filming webspinner silk. (Photo Courtesy of Edward Rooks)
From Left to Right: Edward Rooks and Janice Edgerly-Rooks collecting webspinners.
From left to right: Jenny Oh, Josh Cassidy and Janice Edgerly-Rooks filming webspinners in Janice’s lab at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. (Photo Courtesy of Edward Rooks)
A webspinner hanging out on top of its silky domain.
