**Caddisfly Genus Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedges)**

Mayflies

Caddisflies

Stoneflies

Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Trichoptera (Caddisflies)

» Family Hydropsychidae

» Genus Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedges)

Species in Cheumatopsyche
Cheumatopsyche campylaLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche etronaLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche gracilisLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche harwoodiLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche lasiaLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche pasellaLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche pettitiLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche sordidaLittle Sister Sedge	0	0
Cheumatopsyche speciosaLittle Sister Sedge	0	0

35 species aren't included.

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Little Sister Sedges
	Little Olive Sedges

Pictures Below ↓

To generalize broadly, Cheumatopsyche is found lower in the watershed than the similar genera Hydropsyche and Ceratopsyche. It is also smaller, but there is wide variation in size and color between the species. See the family Hydropsychidae page for life cycle details common to these genera.

The most important trout stream species are Cheumatopsyche campyla and Cheumatopsyche pettiti.

Pictures of 5 Caddisfly Specimens in the Genus Cheumatopsyche:

Specimen Page:12

Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedges) Caddisfly Pupa

View 10 PicturesThis is the first fully formed caddis pupa (technically, a pharate adult (Pharate adult: Caddisflies are considered to be pupae during their transformation from larva into adult. This transformation is complete before they're ready to emerge. The emerging insect we imitate with the "pupa" patterns we tie is technically called a pharate adult. It is a fully-formed adult caddisfly with one extra layer of exoskeleton surrounding it and restricting its wings.)) that I've collected and photographed alive and healthy. I'll put a video of this specimen online soon, too.

Collected April 14, 2007 from Cayuta Creek in New York
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on April 22, 2007

Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedges) Caddisfly Adult

View 9 Pictures

Collected September 19, 2006 from Mystery Creek #43 in New York
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on October 4, 2006

Cheumatopsyche (Little Sister Sedges) Caddisfly Pupa

View 3 PicturesI was surprised how bright green this pupa is. It's chartreuse. After collecting it, I experimented with melting down chartreuse jigs and making little translucent rubber caddis abdomens on my flies. They looked good, and the trout liked them, but they weren't very durable at all. This specimen is recently deceased in the photographs.

Collected May 18, 2004 from the Namekagon River in Wisconsin
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on January 25, 2006

Specimen Page:12

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Jargon Defined:

Abdomens: The rear and usually the longest (ten-segmented in mayflies) portion of an insect's body, to which the tails are attached.

Pharate adult: Caddisflies are considered to be pupae during their transformation from larva into adult. This transformation is complete before they're ready to emerge. The emerging insect we imitate with the "pupa" patterns we tie is technically called a pharate adult. It is a fully-formed adult caddisfly with one extra layer of exoskeleton surrounding it and restricting its wings.

Pupa: Any insect which spends most of its juvenile lifetime as a larva first becomes a pupa for a time before emerging as a fully grown adult. Depending on the species, the pupal form can be very important for fly fishermen to imitate.

Useful References:

LaFontaine, Gary. 1981. Caddisflies. The Lyons Press.

Swisher, Doug and Carl Richards. 2000. Selective Trout. The Lyons Press.