Monday, May 19, 2008

Heads or Tails: Pieces of Twigs Are Home for Caddisflies

These are all examples of caddisflies, collected during an aquatic insect and crustacean field trip on the Missisquoi River by our fifth and sixth graders. You can see the caddisfly emerging from their homes of pieces of twigs, plants and silk that they make. 


Interestingly, caddisflies and stoneflies are signs that the water in which they live is very clean.

Each case that the individual flies make is unique.

This is one of the most fascinating bugs I have ever learned about.

Caddisflies are popular bait for trout fishing.



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23 Comments:

Sue said...

That is so cool! It is the first time I have seen something like that :)

Happy HOT day and have a great week!

Hootin' Anni said...

This is just outstanding!!! How so very very interesting!

Mine's shared.

Skittles said...

Applause! Applause!!! Wonderful post and photos!!!

Abbey said...

Wow, I like that ... thanks heaps for teaching me about the little fly...x

Mike said...

Thank you so much for telling me what those were! I see them in my pond all the time and thought my mind was playing tricks on me. (Walking twigs, yeah ok.)

Lifecruiser said...

Wow! I've never seen or heard anything about them! How fascinating. I wonder if we've something similar here in Sweden...

Karen said...

I never knew of such a thing. Very cool.

Picturing of Life said...

eeuw....what an piece :D but cool and the information also...

Will you visit mine Thanks

Inspiration Alley said...

Great photography. Bugs hold a certain fascination for me so found your post really interesting. Will know what to look out for when I visit Vermont.

Leslie said...

Even though I HATE bugs, that was very fascinating.

Sandy M said...

EWWWE, creepy crawlys! I have never heard of these but I do not like bugs, dead or alive!

Shannon H. said...

I don't really like bugs but I enjoyed learning something new. Great photos.

Mike said...

I learned something new here. Very good post and interesting too. It's a good sign that the water is clean too.

Linda said...

Great photography! First time I've seen these up close.

Raven said...

Wow! What extraordinary photos! This is fascinating. Nature never ceases to awe and astonish me. Thank you for the science lesson.

poor man's nicole richie said...

for the first time I did not feel jittery about insects.
those are very interesting pieces of info.thanks for sharing.


c",) Morning Sniffles

Heart of Rachel said...

This is a very interesting and informative post. I'm not familiar with that kind of bug. I guess it's good to have them around because they signify the cleanliness of the water.

Vixen said...

Very interesting (as always) and great pictures you took.

Happy Tuesday.

Tina said...

thats really intruiging. love the pics. you never think stuff like that happens really! fasinating.

Vic Grace said...

Very interesting. I am not that good around bugs though.

jvdhj said...

Wicked! I love learning new things! I can honestly say I've never heard of these bugs but to get to see their fascinating beginnings is incredible! Thanks so much for sharing!! :)

peppylady said...

When Bart was in sixth grade his class went to the pond and collected samples from the water.
Although I don't recall what they did.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

As a kid, I used to lay on my belly for hours watching these guys. I was a little afraid of picking them up because I didn't know if they would bite.