Velvet Worm

About the Velvet Worm

Not technically an insect but closely related to arthropods. They shoot sticky slime from oral tubes to entangle prey - the slime is being studied for sustainable adhesive development. They have changed little in 500 million years, making them living fossils. They are soft-bodied with stubby legs. They have a unique predatory strategy among terrestrial invertebrates. They give birth to live young. Found in dark, moist habitats. Over 200 species described. They are considered a link between arthropods and annelid worms.