Pond insect that wraps twigs and leaves around itself
Sun, May 3, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Today, while looking into the pond in our backyard, my husband noticed some movement along the bottom of the pond. Being the curious man he is, he reached in and what he pulled out were these two very strange looking bugs. The bugs, about an inch in length, look as though they have wrapped leaves and twigs around themselves for camouflage. He brought these bugs into the house and placed them in an isolation chamber in our aquarium for further investigation. After googling various descriptions of this insect I came out empty. So here I am seeking your knowledge. Attached are three pictures. In two you will see how they seem to like to attach themselves to each other. Hopefully you can help us identify these bugs. Thanks 🙂
Ashley
Southern Ontario, Canada
Hi Ashley,
These are Caddisfly Larvae and they are in the order Trichoptera. Here is what Charles Hogue writes in Insects of the Los Angeles Basin: “The larvae, which are aquatic bottom dwellers, are well known to stream fishermen as caseworms. Those of most species live in some sort of protective case or tube made of silk, with bits of leaves, twigs, sand grains, pebbles, or other object incorporated into the material to give the larvae additional physical protection and camouflage. The shape and method of construction of the case is characteristic for a species or group of species, and the variety in these mobile homes is extensive: they may be purse-shaped, tubular, curved, snail-shaped, or rectangular, and there are even types with sticks set in an ascending square framework that mimic a little log cabin.” Adult Caddisflies resemble moths.