Family: Limnephilidae, Northern Caddisflies view all from this family

Description The Great Silver-striped Sedge is a member of the caddisfly order (order Trichoptera). Caddisflies resemble moths in that their wings are often shaped and colored like those of certain moth species. But caddisflies lack the coiled proboscis of moths and usually have minute hair rather than scales on the wings and body. The Greek order name means "hairy wings." Like some moths, all caddisflies hold their wings rooflike over the body at rest. Most are poor fliers, flying to lights at night and hiding by day. These insects have slender legs with spurs and 2 strong claws, and long, multisegmented antennae. The chewing mouthparts have well-developed palps but reduced jaws.Female caddisflies drop masses or strings of hundreds of eggs into fresh water, or they attach them to vegetation overhanging water, into which larvae drop. Eggs hatch in a few days but most larvae need a year to develop. Adults live only a month and rarely eat. All larvae, called caddisworms, are aquatic and undergo complete metamorphosis. The caterpillarlike body has a pair of hooklike appendages at the rear and filamentous gills on each abdominal segment. Some larvae construct portable cases around their bodies, which later become pupal shelters. Others creep freely over rocks in rapid streams in search of prey. Still others spin silken nets, which they attach to rocks in fast-moving streams, and eat plant food caught inside. All larvae pupate underwater. There are 1,000 species of caddisflies in North America divided into 18 families, and 4,500 species worldwide.