» Order Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
5 families (Beraeidae, Calamoceratidae, Hydrobiosidae, Sericostomatidae, Xiphocentronidae)
aren't included.
Common Name
This is page 4 of specimens of Trichoptera. Visit the main Trichoptera page for:
- The behavior and habitat of Trichoptera.
- 55 underwater pictures of Trichoptera.
Pictures of 129 Caddisfly Specimens:
Specimen Page:1...
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14 Hydropsyche californica (Spotted Sedge) Caddisfly Larva
View 5 PicturesSize - 14 mm
Condition - preserved
Habitat - cobble bottom, moderate flow run, at a depth of approx. 1 1/2 feet.
Key Characters - pair of large prosternal sclerites (Sclerite: A hard plate of chitinous material, such as those that form the exoskeletons of arthropods, uninterrupted by cracks or sutures.)
This is a very common taxon at this location. I collected using a kick net. In life, it is bright olive green ventrally, shading to a dull olive at its dorsal (Dorsal: Top.) abdominal surfaces. In the hand, the legs, thoraxic regions, and head appear medium chocolate brown. The stark contrast of the thoraxic plate's dark edges and light legs are effects of preserving. The plumouse anal hooks were duck down gray, not the color of the gills as appears in the preserved specimen.
The Lower Yuba River is a good habitat for this species, being a larger river with an open canopy. The Feather River just to the north of the Yuba system also finds H. californica in abundance. The other common Hydropsyche species in the area, Hydropsyche occidentalis, seems to prefer smaller, shaded streams.
Entoman Female Dolophilodes distinctus (Tiny Black Gold Speckled-Winged Caddis) Caddisfly Adult
View 6 PicturesThis is a really strange specimen. I would guess it's one of the dry caddis pupa that scoots across the surface of the water as a pupa rather than emerging right away. Its "wing pads (
The wing pads on this final instar
Baetidae mayfly nymph are extremely dark.
Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.)" sure don't look right, though. Maybe they're deformed and that's why I was able to find this one as a pupa in the first place. It also looks like it might be a caddis adult missing its wings, but since I found three of them, that kind of rules out such an anomalous maiming.
I found this one and one other on a midstream rock. The previous day, I caught a similar creature kicking around on the water's surface.
This one died and shriveled a little bit before I could photograph it, but it's basically in its original shape. Specimen Page:1...
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