Tube Maker Caddisflies

Polycentropodidae

Tube Maker Caddisflies are tiny insects that build special homes out of twigs and pebbles. They live in water and are great at hiding from fish and other animals.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Tube Maker Caddisflies are slender, moth-like insects with dull brown, grey, or black fuzzy wings covered in fine hairs. Their larvae, which live underwater, construct unique silken tubes often decorated with small pebbles or plant bits. They differ visually from true moths by their roof-like held wings and simpler antennae.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderTrichopteraFamilyPolycentropodidae

Tube Maker Caddisflies

Interesting facts

Adult caddisflies often have fuzzy wings covered in hairs, earning them the cool nickname 'water moths'!

Caddisfly larvae can be like tiny water detectives, showing if a river or stream is clean and healthy!

Many caddisfly larvae live underwater for nearly a whole year before transforming into flying adults!

Some artists encourage caddisfly larvae to build their amazing cases with gold flakes and tiny jewels!

Special abilities

Tube Maker Caddisflies can spin incredibly strong silk threads underwater because of specialized glands, helping them build unique retreats and capture nets.

Tube Maker Caddisflies can construct intricate tubular homes using silk and natural debris, protecting them from predators and currents.

Tube Maker Caddisflies can weave funnel-shaped silken nets because of their silk glands, helping them filter tiny food particles from water currents.

Tube Maker Caddisflies larvae have tiny external gills that help them extract oxygen directly from the water, allowing them to live underwater.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 10-30 mm
Size: 5-20 mm
Lifespan: 30-365 days
Flight Speed: 5 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Underwater larvae feast on tiny plants, algae, and small invertebrates, while adults often eat little.

Age differences: Larvae actively feed and hunt, while adults typically have reduced mouthparts and may not feed at all, or only on nectar.

Primary Foods

algae
detritus
diatoms
small aquatic invertebrates

Foraging Method

Filter Feeding

Ecological connections

eats

Brown Trout

Salmo trutta

Adult and juvenile trout frequently eat caddisfly larvae.

eaten by

Water Flea

Daphnia pulex

Caddisfly larvae catch and consume small zooplankton like water fleas.

eats

White-throated Dipper

Cinclus cinclus

Dippers dive underwater to forage for caddisfly larvae and pupae.

Traits

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Camouflaged

Camouflaged describes organisms that possess coloring or patterns that allow them to blend into their environment.

Filter Feeder

Filter feeders obtain nutrients by straining suspended food particles and small organisms from water.

Herbivorous

This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.

Decomposer

Describes organisms that break down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.