Q.
From Wvtroutbum: With all the caddis present in
a yearly cycle of a stream I have recently come
across a new species, at least for me, on a favorite
stream. It is a cased caddis (using leaves and twigs).
When the case is removed the developing pupa is cream
with a dark head approximately 10 to 13mm long. This
is an Eastern freestone stream that has been brought
back to life by limestone fines placed in the headwaters.
Any idea when these thousands of caddis will hatch and
what type they are?
A.
It would be foolhardy and presumptuous of me
to attempt to identify your caddisfly from what
you’ve told me. Glenn Wiggins, the author of
the best taxonomic work on caddisflies, says
that there are about 1400 species of caddisflies
identified in North America, so you can see why
I’m reluctant to hazardous even a guess to family
level from your brief description. However, I’d
be willing to help you get your caddis identified
if you want to pursue it. One way would be for me
to give you the name of someone who could do it who
lives reasonably close to you. I’m guessing from
your screen name that Wv means West Virginia. If
you want me to do that, please confirm this and I’ll
try to come up with the name of a colleague you could
contact. Or I’d be willing to identify it (to family
and genus, but not species) for you if you want to send
me some preserved specimens. In that case, they would
need to be sent in glass vials in 70% alcohol. If you
want to pursue either of these, contact me directly
(streamdoctor@aol.com) for the appropriate name or better
instructions on how to send the specimens.
You also ask when they will hatch, but again, I couldn’t
do this unless I knew more about its identification.
If you have a question, please feel free to contact me.
~ C. E. (Bert) Cushing, aka Streamdoctor
105 W. Cherokee Dr.
Estes Park, CO 80517
Phone: 970-577-1584
Email: streamdoctor@aol.com
The ‘Stream Doctor’ is a retired professional stream ecologist and
author, now living in the West and spending way too much time
fly-fishing. You are invited to submit questions relating to
anything stream related directly to him for use in this Q & A Feature
at streamdoctor@aol.com.
Originally published November 17th, 2003 on Fly Anglers Online by Robert Younghanz.