**Caddisfly Genus Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges)**

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Caddisflies

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Taxonomic Navigation -?-

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

» Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

» Class Insecta (Insects)

» Order Trichoptera (Caddisflies)

» Family Limnephilidae (Northern Caddisflies)

» Genus Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges)

Species in Psychoglypha
Psychoglypha alascensisSnow Sedge	1	3
Psychoglypha subborealisSnow Sedge	0	0

12 species aren't included.

Common Names

Match	Common Name
	Snow Sedges
	Northern Caddisflies

Pictures Below ↓

These caddisflies may be important to the winter angler because they are one of the only insects around. Gary LaFontaine relays an interesting correspondence about this genus in Caddisflies:

Dr. George Roemhild explained to me how he finds these winter caddisflies in February and March: "They crawl up on the snowbanks, but when the sun hits their dark wings they melt down out of sight. That's how I collect them, by walking along looking for holes in the snow."

I will keep an eye out this winter and hopefully collect some specimens to photograph.

Hatching Behavior

Time Of Day (?): Warmest part of the day

Habitat: Warm shallows

On bright winter days when the trout move into the shallows to sun themselves, these caddisflies may pick the same destination to emerge and the trout will feed.

Larva & Pupa Biology

Diet: Leaf matter, algae, dead animals

The larvae are the most important stage of Psychoglypha. They are especially prone to behavioral drift (Behavioral drift: The nymphs and larvae of many aquatic insects sometimes release their grip on the bottom and drift downstream for a while with synchronized timing. This phenomenon increases their vulnerability to trout just like emergence, but it is invisible to the angler above the surface. In many species it occurs daily, most often just after dusk or just before dawn.) and, unlike most species, they do it during the daytime.

Pictures of 2 Caddisfly Specimens in the Genus Psychoglypha:

Female Psychoglypha alascensis (Snow Sedge) Caddisfly Adult

View 3 PicturesThis specimen was 22 mm.

Collected September 15, 2013 from Mystery Creek #178 in Idaho
Added to Troutnut.com by Entoman on September 23, 2013

Male Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges) Caddisfly Adult

View 2 PicturesThis Psychoglypha adult was found clinging to my garage door in the evening on April 9, 2013. It measures 21 mm in length, from the front of head to the end of wings. It is my hope that Creno will be able to identify it to species based on the image of its genitalia. However, if other images are required for a species ID, the specimen is available, so they can be easily taken. Thanks, Roger Rohrbeck, Mercer Island, WA.

Collected April 9, 2013 from Spring Brook in WA
Added to Troutnut.com by Taxon on April 12, 2013

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Jargon Defined:

Behavioral drift: The nymphs and larvae of many aquatic insects sometimes release their grip on the bottom and drift downstream for a while with synchronized timing. This phenomenon increases their vulnerability to trout just like emergence, but it is invisible to the angler above the surface. In many species it occurs daily, most often just after dusk or just before dawn.

Larvae: Many classes of aquatic insects, such as caddisflies, midges, craneflies, dobsonflies, alderflies, and many more, are known as "larvae" rather than "nymphs" in their juvenile stages. They have mostly soft bodies rather than hard exoskeletons. These insects also advance through a "pupa" stage before reaching adulthood.

Useful References:

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