Subclass Pterygota:
Pterous (winged) insects, develop by metamorphosis
Division Endopterygota
(endo = inner; pteron = wing)
Mecopteroid orders
(mecos = length; pteron = wing)
Order Trichoptera
(trichos = hair; pteron = wing)
COMMON NAME: Caddisflies
QUICK DESCRIPTION: Caddisflies look like moths -- their wings are a similar shape, colour and texture, but they are covered with minute hairs (rather than scales, like moths.) Caddisflies have chewing mouthparts, long antennae, and slender legs with two claws. They are not good fliers. Adults lay eggs on or near water, and the larvae and pupae live in water until they become adults.
MINUTE DETAILS: Small to medium-sized mothlike insects; head with setaceous antennae, reduced madibulate mouthparts, and usually small compound eyes (large in some males); prothorax small, two pairs of wings almost always present and covered with hairs, held rooflike over the body at rest, legs identical with five-segmented tarsi. Larvae aquatic, usually case dwellers.
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