Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Genus Hydropsyche

caddisfly - Hydropsyche slossonae - male Caddisfly - Hydropsyche Hydropsychidae, genus Hydropsyche - Hydropsyche Leavenworth Caddis  - Hydropsyche Hydropsychidae, genus Hydropsyche - Hydropsyche Hydropsyche sparna Northern Caddisfly - Hydropsyche alternans spotted sedge - Hydropsyche
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
Suborder Annulipalpia
Superfamily Hydropsychoidea
Family Hydropsychidae (Netspinning Caddisflies)
Subfamily Hydropsychinae
Genus Hydropsyche
Explanation of Names
Hydropsyche Pictet 1834
'water nymph' - from the Greek "hydor" (water) + "psyche" (soul); in Greek mythology, Psyche was an immortal nymph, the personification of the soul
Numbers
close to 80 spp. in our area(1), ~270 total(2)
Size
adult body 10-15 mm
Identification
Adult: head and body with patches of short hair; forewing light to medium brown or grayish, often with speckling, mottling, or patches of pale yellowish or cream color; anal angle of forewing relatively sharp-angled (outer margin of wing may be slightly concave near anal angle)
Larva: many species have distinctive pattern on top of head; dorsal plate on each thoracic segment; rows of bushy gills on abdomen
Range
worldwide
Habitat
larvae in fast-moving portions of streams and rivers; adults on nearby vegetation, and are attracted to artificial light
Food
larvae are filter-feeders, eating algae, detritus, and particles of organic material captured in their nets
Remarks
Larvae spin a concave net, facing upstream, in front of a sheltered retreat in debris or under stones, and wait for food to be captured in the net. Some species build nets under the brink of a waterfall, causing a brown coating of sediment to form on the rocks.(3)
Works Cited
1.Distributional checklist of Nearctic Trichoptera (2022 revision)
Rasmussen A.K., Morse J.C. 2023. FAMU, Tallahassee. 519 pp.
2.Catalogue of Life
3.How to Know the Insects
Roger G. Bland, H.E. Jaques. 1978. WCB/McGraw-Hill.