Net-spinning-caddisfly
Guides
Cheumatopsyche
Little Sister Sedges
Cheumatopsyche is a large genus of net-spinning caddisflies comprising at least 240 described species. Larvae construct silk capture nets to filter food from flowing water and are important components of freshwater benthic communities. Species exhibit variable life histories including univoltine and multivoltine cycles, with some populations capable of producing additional generations when thermal conditions permit. The genus is widely distributed across multiple continents and serves as a significant bioindicator for water quality assessment.
Cheumatopsyche campyla
Cheumatopsyche campyla is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae, described by Ross in 1938. As a member of this family, it constructs fixed retreats and capture nets to filter food from flowing water. The species is known to occur in North America.
Cheumatopsyche ela
Cheumatopsyche ela is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae, first described by Denning in 1942. The species occurs in North America and is part of a genus known for constructing silk capture nets in flowing water habitats. Larvae exhibit density-dependent dispersion patterns in laboratory settings, with aggressive behavior and cannibalism observed at high population densities. As with other hydropsychids, adults are short-lived and primarily focused on reproduction.
Hydropsyche bifida
Hydropsyche bifida is a caddisfly species described by Banks in 1905, currently treated as a synonym of Ceratopsyche morosa. It belongs to the family Hydropsychidae, a group of net-spinning caddisflies whose larvae construct capture nets in flowing water to filter food particles. The species has been recorded from North America, specifically from Vermont in the United States.
Hydropsyche bronta
A net-spinning caddisfly species in the family Hydropsychidae. In summer-warm rivers of southern Ontario, populations exhibit trivoltine life cycles, completing three generations per year. Smaller than the sympatric H. morosa and overwinters in slightly older larval instars.
Hydropsyche oslari
Hydropsyche oslari is a species of caddisfly (order Trichoptera) in the family Hydropsychidae, first described by Banks in 1905. The species has been reclassified under the genus Ceratopsyche by some authorities, though it is still widely referenced as Hydropsyche oslari. It belongs to a group of net-spinning caddisflies that construct fixed retreats and capture nets in flowing water environments. Like other hydropsychids, the larvae are aquatic filter-feeders that play important roles in stream ecosystems.
Hydropsyche scalaris
Hydropsyche scalaris is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae, first described by Hagen in 1861. It belongs to one of the largest genera of caddisflies, with larvae that construct fixed retreats and capture nets in flowing water to filter food particles. The species is documented from North America within the Nearctic region.
Hydropsyche simulans
Hydropsyche simulans is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae, described by Ross in 1938. Like other members of its genus, it is an aquatic insect whose larvae construct silk nets to capture food in flowing water. The species occurs in North America and is part of the diverse fauna of caddisflies that are ecologically important in freshwater ecosystems and relevant to fly fishing.
Hydropsyche sparna
Hydropsyche sparna is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae. It has been studied primarily for its behavioral responses to suspended particles and deposited bedload sediment in flowing water environments. The species is currently treated as a synonym of Ceratopsyche sparna in some taxonomic databases. Research on this species has contributed to understanding how filter-feeding aquatic insects modify their foraging behaviors in response to changing environmental conditions.
Macrostemum
Glossy Wing Sedges
Macrostemum is a cosmopolitan genus of net-spinning caddisflies in the family Hydropsychidae, comprising at least 90 described species. Adults are recognized by distinctive dark and light contrasting wing patterns. Larvae construct silken retreats with capture nets to filter fine particulate organic matter from flowing water. The genus is particularly diverse in the Neotropical region, with species documented across Africa, Asia, Madagascar, and the Americas.
Macrostemum carolina
Macrostemum carolina is a net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae. Larvae construct silken catchnets within protective retreats to filter food from flowing water. Multiple retreat-building phenotypes exist within this species, including retreats with water entrance holes at the end of silken tubes, with 180° silken backstops, or flush with the retreat top. Molecular genetic analysis confirms these phenotypes represent a single panmictic population rather than cryptic species.
Neureclipsis
tube maker caddisflies
Neureclipsis is a genus of net-spinning caddisflies in the family Polycentropodidae, containing at least eight described species distributed across the Northern Hemisphere and Australia. Larvae construct elaborate silken catchnets to capture drifting invertebrate prey in lotic freshwater habitats. The genus includes the well-studied species N. bimaculata, whose life history and feeding ecology have been investigated in North American and European populations.
Parapsyche apicalis
Parapsyche apicalis is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae, originally described as Arctopsyche apicalis by Banks in 1908. The species belongs to the subfamily Arctopsychinae and is found in North America. As a member of Hydropsychidae, larvae construct fixed retreats and capture nets to filter food particles from flowing water.
Polycentropus variegatus
Polycentropus variegatus is a species of caddisfly in the family Polycentropodidae, originally described by Banks in 1900. It is currently treated as a synonym of Plectrocnemia variegata. The species is known from North America. As a member of the Polycentropodidae, it belongs to a group of net-spinning caddisflies whose larvae construct silken nets to capture prey.
Potamyia flava
Yellow Net-spinning Caddisfly
Potamyia flava is a species of net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae, distributed across North America. As a member of the Hydropsychidae, larvae construct fixed capture nets to filter food particles from flowing water. Adults are recognized by their yellow coloration, which distinguishes them from related species. The species has been well-documented through citizen science observations, with over 2,000 records on iNaturalist.
Smicridea fasciatella
net-spinning caddisfly
Smicridea fasciatella is a net-spinning caddisfly in the family Hydropsychidae. It is the primary species responsible for nuisance swarming events along the Colorado River in Bullhead City, Arizona, where synchronized mass emergence of adults creates significant quality-of-life impacts for residents. The species belongs to the fasciatella species group, which occurs across the Americas from the southwestern United States through Central America and South America. Like other hydropsychid caddisflies, its larvae are aquatic filter-feeders that construct capture nets to obtain food from flowing water.