Caddisfly Life Cycle
It's a good sign if mothlike caddisflies are present near lakes and other bodies of water, because it means pollution levels are low and the quality of water is good. Caddisfly larvae are no strangers to anglers who enjoy using them for bait when fly-fishing. As with moths, caddisflies are drawn to porch and street lights, sometimes in annoying numbers.
Mating Swarm
When ready for mating, swarms of caddisflies head for a tree, shrub or vegetation near a stream or other natural water source. Mating takes place, and the females fly off to deposit their bright green strands of eggs on the surface of a stream or on vegetation overhanging a body of water, where the eggs will eventually wash or fall off into the water.
Hatching Larvae
After the green eggs sink to the bottom of the water, the eggs mature, and, about a week and a half later, the larvae hatch and continue to grow. They eat organic debris on the bottom of whatever body of water they are inhabiting, stoking up for the next stage in their lives.
The Pupal Stage
After taking in nourishment, caddisfly larvae set to work spinning silky cases or cocoons, which they then cover in sand, sticks, wood, rocks or anything else that will help form a portable, protective covering around their soft bodies. They live and grow inside these casings and shed them five or six times as they grow, reforming new casings each time. The larval stage is the longest stage of a caddisfly's life.
The Mature Pupa
After molting and remaking five or six new portable cases, the caddisfly finally reaches the mature pupa stage. It has sealed itself inside its case, and, when the time is right, finally breaks free of this last case and makes its way out of the water toward land. Weeks, even months have passed since the larva first hatched out of its egg.
A Brief Adulthood
After this complicated metamorphosis, most adult caddisflies don't even eat once they have taken to the air and land. They live for a brief time--two weeks, a month or two at most--and continue the cycle by mating and laying eggs for the next generation of caddisflies.
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