Troutnut.com Fly Fishing for Trout Home
User Password
or register.
Scientific name search:

Caddisfly Family Helicopsychidae

Taxonomic Navigation -?-
» Family Helicopsychidae
Genus in HelicopsychidaeNumber of SpecimensNumber of Pictures
HelicopsycheSpeckled Peters18
Pictures Below ↓
See Helicopsyche borealis for details. It is the only important species in the only American genus of this family.

Pictures of 2 Caddisfly Specimens in the Family Helicopsychidae:

Helicopsyche borealis (Speckled Peter) Caddisfly AdultHelicopsyche borealis (Speckled Peter) Caddisfly Adult View 7 PicturesThis one keys pretty easily to the Helicopsychidae family, of which there is only one genus in North America, and one species reported in this general area.
Collected July 31, 2020 from the Henry's Fork of the Snake River in Idaho
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on August 17, 2020
Helicopsyche borealis (Speckled Peter) Caddisfly PupaHelicopsyche borealis (Speckled Peter) Caddisfly Pupa View 13 PicturesI'm calling this one very tentatively Helicopsyche borealis, with some big caveats that I might be wrong.

It seems to key fairly easily to Helicopsychidae, except at the last couplet in Merritt & Cummins (5th ed) it's supposed to have “anal processes short and straight, each with several mesal (Mesal: Toward the middle.) setae (Seta: Little hairs on insects.) and 2 long apical (Apical: Close to the apex; tip or end.) setae (Seta: Little hairs on insects.),” whereas this one has VERY short, straight processes with 3 long apical (Apical: Close to the apex; tip or end.) setae (Seta: Little hairs on insects.) and no mesal (Mesal: Toward the middle.) ones.

Additionally, the only species of Helicopsychidae documented in this region is Helicopsyche borealis, which is supposed to emerge much later in the summer.
Collected April 9, 2021 from the Yakima River in Washington
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on April 12, 2021

1 Underwater Picture of Helicopsychidae Caddisflies:

View Full SizeView Full Size and Comment (2.5X larger)
Add
A variety of cased caddisfly larvae, probably mostly Neophylax, have clustered along the backside of a rock in fast water. There seem to be some Helicopsychidae larvae clustered along the bottom, and a few other taxa are mixed in. It's interesting that several larvae have especially large stones placed over the front openings of their cases, perhaps to block the case off for pupation. It does seem to be the wrong time of year for Neophylax to be pupating, but that was the ID given for one of these which I collected and photographed up close. In this picture: Caddisfly Genus Helicopsyche (Speckled Peters) and Caddisfly Genus Neophylax (Autumn Mottled Sedges). From Cayuta Creek in New York.
A variety of cased caddisfly larvae, probably mostly Neophylax, have clustered along the backside of a rock in fast water. There seem to be some Helicopsychidae larvae clustered along the bottom, and a few other taxa are mixed in. It's interesting that several larvae have especially large stones placed over the front openings of their cases, perhaps to block the case off for pupation.

It does seem to be the wrong time of year for Neophylax to be pupating, but that was the ID given for one of these which I collected and photographed up close.

In this picture: Caddisfly Genus Helicopsyche (Speckled Peters) and Caddisfly Genus Neophylax (Autumn Mottled Sedges).
StateNew York
LocationCayuta Creek
Date TakenApr 14, 2007
Date AddedMay 3, 2007
AuthorTroutnut
CameraPENTAX Optio WPi

Your Thoughts On Helicopsychidae:

You must log in at the top of the page to post. If you haven't registered yet, it's this easy:

Username:          Email:

Password:    Confirm Password:

I am at least 13 years old and agree to the rules.
Top 10 Fly Hatches
BaetisBaetidaeEphemerellidaeHexagenia limbataChironomidaeHeptageniidaeEphemerella subvariaIsonychiaEphemerellaHydropsychidae
Top Gift Shop Designs
I outfish my daddy!Electric blue Hendrickson dun.I love buggers. Big, green, wooly ones.I outfish my husband!Be the trout.
Eat mayflies.
Top Insect Specimens
Baetisca obesa Mayfly NymphCorydalus Hellgrammite LarvaNeophylax Caddisfly AdultEphemera guttulata Mayfly DunHydropsyche aenigma Caddisfly Adult
Miscellaneous Sites
Dalton Highway (Haul Road) Corridor Map