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Caddisfly Species Leucotrichia pictipes (Ring Horn Microcaddis)

  

Where & When


Regions: East, Midwest, West

Time Of Year (?): Late spring and summer

This species is abundant across the northern United States. It can be extremely abundant -- Gary LaFontaine tells in Caddisflies of a population estimate putting this species at 5,000 per square foot in parts of the Madison River. If have found it very abundant in the Midwest as well, though probably not quite to that extreme. You can see this in my underwater photos.

Hatching Behavior


Time Of Day (?): Any time


Egg-Laying Behavior


LaFontaine describes the unique egg-laying behavior of this species in Caddisflies:

[W]hen the females return to lay their eggs and crawl down the backside of the rocks, so many slip into the currents that trout stack up behind midstream obstructions.

Larva & Pupa Biology


Current Speed: Fast



2 Underwater Pictures of Leucotrichia pictipes Caddisflies:

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The white blotches on this rock are Leucotrichia caddisfly cases, and the wispy tubes are cases made by a type of midge. In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemerella invaria (Sulphur Dun), Caddisfly Species Leucotrichia pictipes (Ring Horn Microcaddis), and True Fly Family Chironomidae (Midges). From the Namekagon River in Wisconsin.
The white blotches on this rock are Leucotrichia caddisfly cases, and the wispy tubes are cases made by a type of midge.

In this picture: Mayfly Species Ephemerella invaria (Sulphur Dun), Caddisfly Species Leucotrichia pictipes (Ring Horn Microcaddis), and True Fly Family Chironomidae (Midges).
StateWisconsin
LocationNamekagon River
Date TakenMar 24, 2004
Date AddedJan 25, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraOlympus C740UZ
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There's a stonefly nymph in the bottom right corner of this picture, but what's really interesting is those white blotches. They're pretty common in my Wisconsin home river river, stuck flat onto the rocks--lots of rocks have a speckled look as a result. They are microcaddis cases, made by larvae of the caddisfly family Hydroptilidae. These are made by larvae of the subfamily Leucotrichiinae, most likely the genus Leucotrichia. They spin little flat oval cases of silk tight and immobile against the rocks. In this picture: Caddisfly Species Leucotrichia pictipes (Ring Horn Microcaddis). From the Namekagon River in Wisconsin.
There's a stonefly nymph in the bottom right corner of this picture, but what's really interesting is those white blotches. They're pretty common in my Wisconsin home river river, stuck flat onto the rocks--lots of rocks have a speckled look as a result. They are microcaddis cases, made by larvae of the caddisfly family Hydroptilidae. These are made by larvae of the subfamily Leucotrichiinae, most likely the genus Leucotrichia. They spin little flat oval cases of silk tight and immobile against the rocks.

In this picture: Caddisfly Species Leucotrichia pictipes (Ring Horn Microcaddis).
StateWisconsin
LocationNamekagon River
Date TakenMar 20, 2004
Date AddedJan 25, 2006
AuthorTroutnut
CameraOlympus C740UZ

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