Little Black Caddis vs Tube-Making Caddis

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Little Black Caddis Tube-Making Caddis
Scientific Name Chimarra obscura Psychomyia flavida
Order Trichoptera Trichoptera
Family Philopotamidae Psychomyiidae
Size 6-9 mm 5-8 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Rivers & Streams
Diet Omnivores Gall Makers
Regions Eastern North America North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Little Black Caddis

A small, dark caddisfly that builds finger-shaped silk nets in stream crevices. It is widespread in warm-water streams across eastern North America.

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Did You Know?

Its silk capture tube is among the finest-meshed nets of any caddisfly, trapping microscopic food particles.

Tube-Making Caddis

A small caddisfly whose larvae build silken tubes cemented to rock surfaces in rivers. The tubes create a network of galleries on submerged stones.

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Did You Know?

Entire rock surfaces can be covered in a patchwork of silken tubes built by dense colonies.