**Caddisfly Genus Hydropsyche (Spotted Sedges)**

Mayflies

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Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Trichoptera (Caddisflies)

» Family Hydropsychidae

» Genus Hydropsyche (Spotted Sedges)

Species in Hydropsyche
Hydropsyche betteniSpotted Sedge	0	0
Hydropsyche bidensSpotted Sedge	0	0
Hydropsyche californicaSpotted Sedge	1	4
Hydropsyche occidentalisSpotted Sedge	0	0
Hydropsyche simulansSpotted Sedge	0	0

43 species aren't included.

Common Name

Match	Common Name
	Spotted Sedges

Pictures Below ↓

Though still extremely important, the impact of this genus is somewhat less because entomologists recently reclassified 10 of the 15 most important Hydropsyche species listed by Gary LaFontaine in Caddisflies into the genus Ceratopsyche.

See the Hydropsychidae family page for details shared by these genera.

Pictures of 4 Caddisfly Specimens in the Genus Hydropsyche:

Specimen Page:12

Female Hydropsyche (Spotted Sedges) Caddisfly Adult

View 4 Pictures

Collected May 16, 2004 from unknown in Wisconsin
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on January 25, 2006

Hydropsyche (Spotted Sedges) Caddisfly Pupa

View 8 PicturesSeveral users have interesting comments in the discussion of this specimen, but this observation by Creno is especially good:

Also, this is what I would call an "immature" pupa. The wingpads of caddis pupae darken to nearly black as the enclosed adults near emerging. The darkening is the developing adult wing inside the pupal wing pad (

The wing pads on this final instar Baetidae mayfly nymph are extremely dark.
Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.). The ultimate coloration of the adult wing is not very apparent in most pupal wing pads (

The wing pads on this final instar Baetidae mayfly nymph are extremely dark.
Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.) as the majority of the adult wing coloration comes from the color/position of the adult wing hairs and setae (Seta: Little hairs on insects.). But dark pupal wingpads are a good indication that the emergence will occur very soon, likely that day or so, and that the adult parts are sufficiently developed within the pupae to make a species determination from the specimen, particularly if it is a male.

Collected May 13, 2007 from the Delaware River in New York
Added to Troutnut.com by Troutnut on May 18, 2007

Hydropsyche californica (Spotted Sedge) Caddisfly Larva

View 5 PicturesSize - 14 mm

Condition - preserved

Habitat - cobble bottom, moderate flow run, at a depth of approx. 1 1/2 feet.

Key Characters - pair of large prosternal sclerites (Sclerite: A hard plate of chitinous material, such as those that form the exoskeletons of arthropods, uninterrupted by cracks or sutures.)

This is a very common taxon at this location. I collected using a kick net. In life, it is bright olive green ventrally, shading to a dull olive at its dorsal (Dorsal: Top.) abdominal surfaces. In the hand, the legs, thoraxic regions, and head appear medium chocolate brown. The stark contrast of the thoraxic plate's dark edges and light legs are effects of preserving. The plumouse anal hooks were duck down gray, not the color of the gills as appears in the preserved specimen.

The Lower Yuba River is a good habitat for this species, being a larger river with an open canopy. The Feather River just to the north of the Yuba system also finds H. californica in abundance. The other common Hydropsyche species in the area, Hydropsyche occidentalis, seems to prefer smaller, shaded streams.

Entoman

Collected March 9, 2011 from the Lower Yuba River in California
Added to Troutnut.com by Entoman on November 2, 2011

Specimen Page:12

Your Thoughts On Hydropsyche:

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Jargon Defined:

Dorsal: Top.

Emergence: The transformation of a nymph or pupa into the adult winged stage of an insect. The term may refer to the emergence of an individual, or the daily or yearly event in which all individuals of a species emerge.

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.

Sclerites: A hard plate of chitinous material, such as those that form the exoskeletons of arthropods, uninterrupted by cracks or sutures.

Setae: Little hairs on insects.

The wing pads on this final instar Baetidae mayfly nymph are extremely dark.

Wing pad: A protrusion from the thorax of an insect nymph which holds the developing wings. Black wing pads usually indicate that the nymph is nearly ready to emerge into an adult.

Useful References:

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

Schwiebert, Ernest G. 1955. Matching the Hatch. MacMillan Publishing Company.

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