Hydropsychidae sp. (family)
Net-spinning caddisfly at Melba, ACT
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| Hydropsychidae sp. (family) | MichaelMulvaney | 28 Apr 2025 | |
| Unverified | kasiaaus | 24 Apr 2025 |
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4 comments
27 Apr 2025
It's a caddisfly, but hard to see defining features for family. Probably a hydropsychid (Hydropsychidae). The larvae build sand-grain shelters on the down side of flow over rocks and logs and spin a net that entraps small particles that they sweep up and feed on.
27 Apr 2025
Thanks @Alice. Is there any body part that I should be taking better photos of when I take photos of Caddisflies to make them easier to identify?
28 Apr 2025
You ID hydroptilids successfully (small size, pointed wings with long fringes, although one or two genera have rounded wings). Beyond that, when keying out caddisflies presence or absence of ocelli on head ('eye spots' but these can be difficult to see); flexibility or not of last segment of maxillary palps (if flexible they usually fold back at rest); form of dorsal surface of middle segment of thorax; number of spurs on legs; a few species are easy to identify from their wing patterns. Other useful features are difficult to see on live specimens or without a microscope. Alice
Location information
- Coordinates 149.050288-35.208578
- Altitude 593.0m
- Places Melba, ACT
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 22 Apr 2025 10:30 PM Recorded on
- kasiaaus Recorded by
- 5mm to 12mm Animal size
Collections
- kasiaaus NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Caddisflies (Trichoptera) Other insects Insects Hydropsychidae sp. (family)
Species information
- Hydropsychidae sp. (family) Scientific name
- Net-spinning caddisfly Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- 221.2m to 640.4m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes
- Description