First Record and Long-Term Establishment of the Order Embioptera in Washington State

Abstract

Abstract. Specimens of Haploembia sp. (Embioptera: Oligotomidae) were found in 2005 in a rural area of the Columbia Basin next to the Snake River. This is the first verified record of Embioptera in Washington State and one of the northernmost in the world. Subsequent collections 16 years later at the same site show that the population is still present. In 2005, specimens were found only at the original locality. However, starting in 2020, specimens of Haploembia were reported in multiple nearby urban and suburban areas of Washington State and Oregon on the citizen science website iNaturalist.org. Characters of collected specimens and a lack of males across 2005 and 2021 suggest the species in the Columbia Basin region is Haploembia cf. tarsalis (Ross).