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Caddisfly from Canada

October moth?
Location: Port Coquitlam, BC, Ca
January 19, 2012 11:40 pm
This (moth?) sat unmoving for several hours on the key guard of a near-by door. I really wanted a look at the abdomen, but thought it unfriendly to poke at it. Total legnth of about 5 cm, including antennae. Photos taken on October 5/11.
thank you!
Storm Vos-Browning
Signature: Storm

caddisfly canada storm 300x206 Caddisfly from Canada

Caddisfly

Hi Storm,
Though it is mothlike, this insect is actually a Caddisfly in the order Trichoptera.  Caddisflies have aquatic larvae that carry cases about with them earning them the common name of Caseworm.

Hi Daniel,
For a small team with a backlog, you sure answered my question FAST! Thak you. The forward pointing antennae looked wrong for a moth, as did the mouth parts, but I’m not very good at identifying insects. Love watching them, though – I’ve spent hours watching caddisfly larvae in local waterways, but didn’t know what the adults looked like.
As with the stink bug nymph you ID’ed for me back in August, I’ll post a link to What’s That Bug? when I post the photo on my blog.
best wishes,
Storm

Thanks for the positive comments Storm.  So, you raise Killies?  The African Aphyosemion species are really spectacular fish.  We have our own Angelfish aquaria going.  We are sticking to Amazon species for now.

Wow, Daniel, you actually checked out the link? No one ever does that!
“Amazon species” is a huge category – you’ll never run out of cool species. I’m personaly captivated by the small, nocturnal driftwood cats, the corydoras and farlowellas.
The unidentified critter Lori asks about at the bottom of the page looks to be a seed shrimp (Ostracod) but the photo is indistinct. I don’t know how you manage to ID bugs from photos!
you run an awesome site!
cheers, Storm

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Posted 20 January 2012 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Caddisfly: Snow Sedge we believe

WTB
Location: juneau alaska
November 16, 2011 10:07 am
This bug was found in juneau, Alaska yesterday. Never seen one arround here before let alone we dont see many bugs in the winter!
Signature: Gary

caddisfly alaska gary 300x205 Caddisfly: Snow Sedge we believe

Snow Sedge

Hi Gary,
This is a Caddisfly in the order Trichoptera.  Caddisflies are mothlike creatures that have aquatic larvae that build cases for themselves.  According to BugGuide:  “Most species live in a mobile case constructed from plant material, algae, grains of sand, pieces of snail shells, or entirely of silk. The case is held together with strands of silk secreted by the larva. In some species the case is attached to a rock, log, or other underwater surface; a few species have no case and are free-living.  The case’s particular shape and construction material is distinctive of the family and/or genus, and can be used in identification. Example: Helicopyschidae larvae use sand grains to build spiral cases that resemble small snail shells.”  The light markings on the wings of your individual seemed distinctive, so we made an attempt at a more specific identification.  We believe your Caddisfly is in the genus Psychoglypha, and it looks similar to this image posted to BugGuide that contains the comment from Dave Ruiter:  “The scalloped wing, color pattern and venation are characteristic of several, but not all of the species in this genus.”  Somewhere as we were clicking around, we thought we read a name Snow Sedge, so we did a web search of that term and found the TroutNut website that attributes the name to the genus and provides this information:  “These caddisflies may be important to the winter angler because they are one of the only insects around. Gary LaFontaine relays an interesting correspondence about this genus in Caddisflies:  Dr. George Roemhild explained to me how he finds these winter caddisflies in February and March: ‘They crawl up on the snowbanks, but when the sun hits their dark wings they melt down out of sight. That’s how I collect them, by walking along looking for holes in the snow.’”  To back check where we found the name Snow Sedge, we searched again, adding BugGuide as a keyword and found this posting on BugGuide.  The presence of Caddisflies is an indication of clean, unpolluted water.  Here is one final photo from the Natural History of Southeast Alaska website.  


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Posted 17 November 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Probably NOT Caddisfly Pupae, we NOW suspect

Is this a bagworm?
Location: Fish Hoek, Cape peninsular
October 24, 2011 4:15 am
I found this group under a rock each measures about 8 mm long.
I am in Fish Hoek, Cape peninsular area.
(In Zimbabwe we used to get big bagworms that made their sleeping bags out of thorns etc)
Signature: Brian

caddisfly pupae south africa brian 300x206 Probably NOT Caddisfly Pupae, we NOW suspect

Possibly Caddisfly Pupae

Hi Brian,
We don’t know what this is, but we don’t believe they are Bagworms.  Our best guess is perhaps the Pupae of Caddisflies or Caseworms.  The larvae are aquatic and build “homes of sticks, shells or grains of sand.  Each species has a very distinctive case.  Caddisflies also spin silk.  Was this rock overhang near a stream?  If not, then we are most probably wrong.  We hope one of our readers can provide some information.  The North Carolina State University Entomology website has a nice page on Caddisflies.

Hi
Interesting – thanks for the comments!
There is no steam nearby – in fact I on a very rocky and rather dry area of sandstone hill/mountain about 2.5 km from the ocean. (Fynbos)
The drawings on the www.cals.ncsu.edu   website are similar – but I think I will have to ask the local university Zoology Dept
Thanks
Brian

Then Caddisflies must be wrong.  This needs more thought.

Posted 25 October 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Caddisfly Larva from The Netherlands

water insect
Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
October 3, 2011 2:12 am
These are crowling on the bottom of my pond in the backgarden. We live in Eindhoven The Netherlands.
Please can you tell me what bug this is?
Signature: Ine Marijke

caddisfly larva netherlands ine1 300x171 Caddisfly Larva from The Netherlands

Caseworm

Dear Ine,
You have photographed the larva of a Caddisfly.  Caddisfly larvae are aquatic and they build cases from various materials, including sand, gravel, shells and twigs.  Each species of Caddisfly builds a different type of case.  Because of this trait, Caddisfly Larvae are frequently called Caseworms.

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Posted 03 October 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Caddisfly Larva

What is this
Location: Yosemite, CA
August 30, 2011 2:43 pm
Last week we went camping for a few days in Yosemite and while playing in the river I kept noticing that every once in a while bubbles would come out of the sand. While trying to find the culprit I found this strange bug thing that kind of resembles a hermit crab. At first it looked like it had a shell with a beetle head sticking out of it. But after taking a closer look you see that it’s just a bunch of rocks and stuff stuck to it’s back. It stayed completely submerged under water the entire time we were there. Never seen anything like it. Picked it up. Took a picture of it and then put it back. I’ve searched on-line but never found anything close to it.
Signature: Super Curious in SoCal

caddisfly yosemite 300x198 Caddisfly Larva

Caddisfly Larva

Dear Super Curious,
We were puzzled at first by viewing your photo, but upon reading your email, we are certain that this is the larva of a Caddisfly.  They are frequently called Casemakers or Caseworms because of the shelters that are constructed by the larvae for protection.  Each species of Caddisfly constructs a unique case.  Some use twigs, and others use pebbles or shells for their homes.

Thanks a bunch!  I looked around at Caddisfly information after reading your e-mail and I’m sure that’s it.  It was really weird….it had a head that looked like a beetle and I never knew one could live underneath the water.  Always thought of aquatic bugs as kind of floating around on the surface.  Anyway, your site is great!  Love all the pictures.
Heidi

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Posted 31 August 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Caddisfly from Alaska

Is this a termite?
Location: Nome, AK
August 14, 2011 2:28 pm
I’ve seen two of these in my house in Nome Alaska. Is it a termite?
Signature: TJ

caddisfly alaska tj 300x162 Caddisfly from Alaska

Caddisfly

Dear TJ,
This is not a termite.  It is a Caddisfly in the insect order Trichoptera.  The aquatic larvae are called Casemakers, and they build homes from sticks, plant material, sand, shells and other materials.  Each species has a very distinctive case.  You may also search Bugguide for additional information.

Posted 15 August 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Swarming Caddisflies, we believe

Teeming
Location: Davenport, Iowa
June 14, 2011 3:12 pm
Please help me identify these insects. They swarm to the security light outside of the house by the thousands. They make their way into the home and vehicles parked outside. I sprayed an insecticide directly into a cloud of these bugs on our home. They fell to the ground and within seconds, there were just as many swarming the light again. They also seem to die on their own because they literally carpet a portion of a walkway every morning. It has been happening nightly since about June 10th. It was suggested these are Mayflies however they do not resemble the photos I’ve seen online.They seem to be mounting their assault from the trees in our yard.
Signature: Puzzled.

caddisflies swarming iowa 300x206 Swarming Caddisflies, we believe

Swarming Caddisflies

Dear Puzzled,
Your photo documents an amazing population explosion, but we wish you had a nice closeup of a single individual.   We believe these light seeking insects are Caddisflies in the order Trichoptera, and BugGuide indicates:  “Species most diverse in well-aerated streams, but also occur in lakes, ponds, and marshes. Adults rest on nearby vegetion during the day; flight activity begins at dusk. Adults are attracted – sometimes in great numbers – to artificial light.”

caddisflies swarming iowa cu 300x206 Swarming Caddisflies, we believe

Caddisflies Swarming, we believe

Posted 15 June 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Not Owlfly, but Caddisfly from UK

Identification help please.
Location: Yateley, Berkshire
January 27, 2011 12:33 pm
Hi bugman,
I have tried to identify this off my own back but I’m stumped. I thought it is like a Mayfly but it doesn’t have long tail extensions.
Kind Regards
Signature: Matthew Harvey

owlfly uk matthew 300x206 Not Owlfly, but Caddisfly from UK

Caddisfly

Dear Matthew,
We believe that because of the structure of the head and antennae, that this is an Owlfly in the Neuropteran family Ascalaphidae, but we are not certain.  We had no luck finding any matching images on the internet.  BugGuide describes Owlflies as:  “Bizarre creatures that look like a cross between a dragonfly and a butterfly. The body resembles that of other neuropterans, more-or-less, but the prominent antennae are clubbed like those of butterflies. Key characters:  Medium to large size  Clubbed antennae  Eyes large and bulge out from head  may rest in cryptic posture with abdomen projecting from perch, resembling a twig.”  The way that the individual in your photograph holds its wings seems quite different from any other images of Owlflies we have seen.

Identification thanks to Eric Eaton
Hi, Daniel:
Thanks to the Facebook post, I can help you out with this one.  Nice shot of a caddisfly, order Trichoptera.  Seems obvious to me.  Owlflies have huge eyes, clubbed antennae, and wings like dragonflies.  Granted, caddisflies normally don’t have their wings up like this one does….
Eric

Thanks for the assistance Eric.  That makes so much sense because Caddisflies are mothlike, and we thought that the head looked somewhat Lepidopteran.  According to BugGuide:  “Adults resemble moths, but wings are hairy instead of scaly.  Forewings usually dark, sturdy, sometimes with striking color patterns, held tightly together roof-like over the abdomen when at rest.  Hindwings often clear, relatively delicate, and hidden under forewings when at rest.  Antennae usually very long, threadlike, with many segments.  Chewing mouthparts with prominent palpi.  Tarsi have five segments.  Ocelli (simple eyes) present in some families.”

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for trying.
I found one image of an owlfly with a similar wing pose but I can see your point.
http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Asia/photo187343.htm
Have seen none from the UK either.
Kind Regards
Matt

Result!
Please thank Eric on my behalf.
Still can’t find an image of one with it’s wings in that position but I have to concur with Eric that he’s got it right.
Cheers
Matt

Posted 29 January 2011 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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