← Gallery II · The Orders
No. 12 · Holometabolous
Caddisflies
Trichoptera
~14,500
Described species
~49
Families
Introduction
Caddisfly larvae are aquatic engineers — each species builds a distinctive case from materials in its environment, glued together with silk. Their sister order is Lepidoptera (hairs vs scales is the main divergence).
Field marks
Key ID traits.
Moth-like adults with hairy (not scaled) wings held tent-like over body. Aquatic larvae famously build portable cases from silk and pebbles, sand, leaves, or twigs.
Etymology
Greek trichos 'hair' + pteron 'wing'
Wings
Winged
Diet
Herbivore · Predator · Detritivore
Habitat
Aquatic · Semi-aquatic
Notable examples
Net-spinning caddisflies, microcaddisflies, longhorn caddisflies.
Where to look