Caddisfly

“ A butterfly pupa, like the imago, has no mandibles, but in the case of the Caddis-flies (Trichoptera) and two families of small moths, the most primitive of all Lepidoptera, the pupa, like the larva, has well-developed mandibles. These enable the caddis pupa to bite its way out of the shortened larval case in which it has pupated, and then to swim upwards through the water ready for the caddis-fly's emergence into the air. Pupae that are submerged require special breathing-organs. ”

“ The pupa is incomplete, and is enclosed in the case constructed by the larva, a grating being formed at the end, apparently for the purpose of facilitating respiration. The perfect insects are usually termed caddice-flies, and are frequently used, as well as the larvæ, by anglers as a bait for fish. They fly heavily, and commonly settle on bushes near the water's edge. Most of them are of a brown colour, with little variety of markings. Probably about 200 different species inhabit this country. ”

“ It is, however, the work of an insect, and not of man, and is magnified in order to show its structure better.
Any of my readers who may happen to be entomologists or anglers, or both, are familiar with the Caddis-worm of our fresh waters. Most of us know that the Caddis is the grub or larva of the Stone-fly (Phryganea) , an insect haunting the waterside, and so moth-like in its general aspect that many persons think that it is really a brown moth. The changes or metamorphoses of these insects are well worthy of notice. ”

“ Probably we shall find bubbles of air collecting round some of the insects, within their pockets; as the time approaches nearer and nearer for the change to the perfect insect to take place the bubbles grow larger and larger. Eventually the fly emerges within a bubble, shakes it free from the pocket and floats to the surface of the water without wetting its wings.
The pond will supply insects quite as interesting as the running stream. Here we may find the eggs of Caddis flies, enclosed in jelly-like envelopes, rope-like, horse-shoe shaped or simple masses. ”

“ The fairies had washed him, you see, in the swift river, so thoroughly, that not only his dirt, but his whole husk and shell had been washed quite off him, and the pretty little real Tom was washed out of the inside of it, and swam away, as a caddis [Footnote: The caddis worm, while it lives in the water, builds for itself a case of stones or grass or shells, all bound together with silk When the time for its transformation is near, the worm seals up with silk both ends of its case, and remains withdrawn until it is ready to emerge as a caddis fly.] ”

“ But many small creatures build individual shells or cases wholly for defense against enemies. These are frequently carried about with the creature, as armor, wherever it goes. A familiar example, found in any brooklet, is seen in the case of the young caddis-fly. To hide and protect itself from the ever-hungry fishes, the larva of this insect incloses its body in a tube formed by gluing together bits of wood, shells, sand, and all sorts of matter that may be found at the bottom of a stream. ”

“ It would be swallowed almost immediately, but the mouth of the stickleback is much too small to admit an entire caddis, and the skin of the grub is too tough to be easily pierced or torn. Half-an-hour often elapses before the great question is settled, and the caddis eaten.
The rapidity of the evolutions and the fierceness of the struggle must be seen to be appreciated—and it is a spectacle easily to be witnessed; wherever there are sticklebacks, caddis worms are nearly certainly found, and it only needs to extract one of these from its case and deposit it judiciously in the water. ”

“ My glass pond was at first occupied by a dozen Water-beetles, whose diving performances are so curious to watch. One day, meaning no harm and for want of a better place to put them, I fling among them a couple of handfuls of Caddis-worms. Blunderer that I am, what have I done! The pirate Water-beetles, hiding in the rugged corners of the rockwork, at once perceive the windfall. They rise to the surface with great strokes of their oars; they hasten and fling themselves upon the crowd of carpenter Caddis-worms. ”

“ Well, sir, the caddice-worm is the larva of a fly, and he makes a case for himself out of all sorts of bits of everything that happen to suit his particular fancy, dead or alive, sticks and stones and small shells with their owners in 'em, living as comfortable as ever. ”

“ Of course the locality will determine In great measure the natural flies which the angler must approximate with his artificials, the duns having precedence practically everywhere, but the caddis flies, Trichoptera, are quite certain to be prevalent at times, and also the stone flies, Plecoptera; in addition there are many small two-winged insects, Diptera, which occasionally appear on the water. However, the strictly water-bred flies, such as the May flies and duns, caddis and stone flies, are practically the only ones with which the angler is intimately concerned. ”

“ The female caddis fly lays her eggs in the water. She sometimes even crawls down right into the water to lay them.
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“A tiny caddis grub, no bigger than this pin-head, comes out of each egg. As soon as he hatches out, he begins to build his case, to eat, and to grow; and from the moment of his birth up to the closing up of his tube, he is scarcely a moment idle.”
Exercises on Lesson XIV. 1. Turn a caddis worm out of his case in the way described in the lesson. Place the insect in a saucer half filled with water, and make a rough sketch of it. 2. ”

“ When at rest, at the bottom of the pond, it fills the whole of the tube of its sheath. When it wishes to reach the top of the pond, it climbs up the reeds, dragging its house of sticks with it; then it sticks the front of its body out of the sheath, leaving a vacant space in the rear, like the vacuum in a pump when one draws out the piston. This promptly fills with air, enabling the Worm to float, sheath and all, just as the air in a life-preserver holds a person up in the water. The Caddis-worm does not need to cling to the grasses any longer. ”

“ The only creature of the insect kind that I can recommend for general adoption is the caddis worm, a comical and interesting creature, that can never mar the beauty of the tank. Half-a-dozen may be thrown in, and searched for occasionally—the search will always be well rewarded. When the cad closes his hybernacle, it will be desirable to remove it to a jar, to obtain a better opportunity of witnessing the transformation of the dormant worm into a four-winged fly of Stephens's family of Phryganea. ”

“ And if it gets tired it does not have to walk home; it just walks in and goes to sleep under a nice, smooth stone. Some roam about and some stay at home. These creatures are pretty much like human beings in their ways.
"One of the young caddis-worms prefers fishing to walking, like some other young fellows I know. On a stone near its house it spins a fine web, turned up-stream, so that any tender little insects floating down-stream get lodged in it. An easy way to get your dinner—just to go to a net and eat." ”

“ It is a pupa! Yes, Nell, a very pretty doll is this.
It has a thorax, you see, and an abdomen. Its long antennæ lie close to its body as do its little wing pads.
Yes, the caddice larva grows and moults in the usual way. It keeps adding to its house as it grows longer. Finally, it closes the end of its little tube and lies quite still.
You know what happens next. Its wormlike form divides into thorax and abdomen. Legs and wings appear, attached to the thorax. In short, it is no longer a wormlike creature. ”

“ The head with the mouth-parts, and the thorax with the long strong legs, are the only parts of the body that project from the protecting case, and hence need to be specially hardened. At the posterior tip of the abdomen is a pair of strong hooks pointing outward. These hooks can be fastened into the sides of the case and thus hold the larva safely in its house.... The caddis worm crawls slowly about searching for food, which consists of vegetable matter. Those larvae which have fixed cases have to leave it in search of food. ”

“ I shall keep Caddis-worms, those insects which clothe themselves with little sticks and other materials. They are among the most ingenious of the self-clothing insects.
The particular species of Caddis-worm I have chosen is found in muddy-bottomed, stagnant pools crammed with small reeds. It is the little grub that carries through the still waters a bundle of tiny fragments fallen from the reeds. Its sheath, a traveling house, is an elaborate piece of work, made of many different materials. ”

“ In the work made of the Mollusk's cast-off clothing, I find encrusted the spindle shell of the Clausilium, the key shell of the pupa, the spiral of the smaller Helix, the yawning volute of the Vitrina, or glass snail, the turret shell of the Bulimus [all land snails] , denizens all of the fields. In short, the caddis worm builds with more or less everything that comes from the plant or the dead mollusk. Among the diversified refuse of the pond, the only materials rejected are those of a gravelly nature. Stone and pebble are excluded from the building with a care that is very rarely absent. ”

“ There is also another cadis, called by some a Straw-worm, and by some a Ruff-coat, whose house, or case, is made of little pieces of bents, and rushes, and straws, and water-weeds, and I know not what; which are so knit together with condensed slime, that they stick about her husk or case, not unlike the bristles of a hedge-hog. These three cadises are commonly taken in the beginning of summer; and are good, indeed, to take any kind of fish, with float or otherwise. I might tell you of many more, which as they do early, so those have their time also of turning to be flies in later summer ”

“ The larvae known as caddis-worms are aquatic. The mature females lay their eggs in the water, and the newly-hatched larvae provide themselves with cases made of various particles such as grains of sand, pieces of wood or leaves stuck together with silk secreted from the salivary glands of the insect. ”

“ There are a large number of small Caddis-flies which are very much alike in appearance. The anterior wings are long and narrow, and are brown barred with dull yellow. They hover in great numbers by bushes and trees overhanging the water, [Pg 52] and are taken readily enough by trout. I have chosen the Mystacides longicornis as being one of the commonest and most typical. An illustration of the natural fly is given on Plate I. and of the artificial on Plate III.
Body. Light fur from hare’s face.
Hackle. Ginger.
Wings. Narrow piece from well barred quill feather of hen pheasant. ”

“ The caddis-flies belong to this order—brownish insects with long thread-like feelers and broad wings, which are folded tentwise over the body when they are not being used. They are very common near ponds and streams, in which they pass the earlier part of their lives, living down at the bottom in most curious cases, which cover them entirely up with the exception of their heads. ”

“ Many other species live on different kinds of plants and trees.
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ORDER NEUROPTERA.
Including the Dragon Flies, Lacewing Flies, Day Flies, Stone Flies, Caddis Flies, and their Allies.
Next to the butterflies and moths, the Neuroptera (or nerve-winged insects) , to which belong the Dragon Flies, Lacewing Flies, Day Flies, Stone Flies, Caddis Flies, and their allies, are undoubtedly the most beautiful members of the insect tribe. Though they cannot compete with the Lepidoptera in point of colouring, it is questionable whether they are not more graceful and elegant in appearance. ”

“ The caddis worm, or larva of the caddis fly, builds its home of sticks and stones or twigs, and thereby not only preserves its soft body from injury, but also harmonizes with its surroundings, in the same way as does the soldier on active service in time of war. ”

“ The mode of changing the skin, or the frequency with which this occurs in the larval state of the caddis flies has not been recorded. The duration of life in this stage is usually considerable, extending over several months: indeed in our climate many species pass the winter in this stage, completing the metamorphosis in the following spring or summer; and as one generation each year appears to be the rule, it may be assumed that the larval condition in such cases lasts from seven to ten months. ”

“ CATERPILLARS.—Caterpillars and pupæ, if not obtainable in local woods, fields, and gardens, can be had from Messrs Watkins & Doncaster, 36 Strand, London, and others.
CADDIS LARVÆ.—Caddis worms are to be found in almost every stream, pond, and ditch. Most of them are vegetable feeders: therefore a plentiful supply of water weeds should be placed in their tank. Carnivorous caddis worms may be fed on small pieces of raw meat. (See Stickle-backs.)
STICKLE-BACKS.—Stickle-backs are common in canals and streams. They are easily caught with the net. ”

“ Would the spider toil so industriously to spin her web if food came to her without any exertion on her part? Would the caddis-worm have learned to build a tube of sand and shells to protect its soft body, or the oyster to take lime from the sea-water to form a strong shell for its home, if they had no enemies to struggle against and needed no protection? Would the bird have learned to build her nest or the beaver his house if there were no need for their industry? ”