“Seine-net Weaver Caddisflies”
Family Overview
Hydropsychidae
Seine-net Weaver Caddisflies
There are 47 genera in the Common Netspinners family globally, with about 13 found in the US, including more than 155 species. Larvae build stationary retreats of silk, detritus and rock fragments. A part of the entrance of a retreat has a silken filter net protruding into the current to strain food from the water. This is how they earned the common name, “net spinners”. The mesh size of the filter net varies among hydropsychid species, corresponding with the current speed of their optimal habitat and the size of the food particles on which they specialize. They spend most of their life hiding in their retreats, waiting for food to get caught in their nets, mostly tiny bits of organic debris, but occasionally small animals; they sometimes also scrape algae from the surfaces of the rocks or other substrates to which their retreats are attached. Members of this family are often thought to be tolerant of pollution, but this is a misconception as tolerance varies greatly among the different species.
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Mid-Atlantic: 3 - 5
Upper Midwest: 1 - 7
Midwest: 1.8 - 2.9
Southeast: 0 - 8.1
0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
FEEDING HABITS
Collector / Filterer
Engulfer / Predator
Scraper / Grazer
Engulfer / Predator
Scraper / Grazer
MOVEMENT
Clinger
Diagnostic Characters
Media
Hydropsychidae
Audio description of family Hydropsychidae by Dr. John Morse
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