Little Black Caddisfly

Gary LaFontaine tells the story in Caddisflies of how this species came to awareness through rumors of a widespread, intense hatch of an undentified brown and green caddisfly throughout the West. He traveled across the West collecting these flies and determined that they were Brachycentrus occidentalis.

See Glossosoma for details; it is the most likely genus to be important.

Protoptila is very small and rarely important in trout streams.

This is a smaller, darker cousin of Brachycentrus numerosus.