THE CADDIS FLY. 233 



a long oval in shape, and is bent sharply in the middle, its ex- 

 tremities being attached to the abdomen of the insect. When her 

 instinct tells her of the proper time, she proceeds to the water, 

 and attaches the eggs to the leaf of some aquatic plant, often 

 crawling down the stem for several inches. The Caddis Fly is 

 quite at home on the water, and, unlike the dragon flies, which 

 are quite helpless when immersed, can run on the surface witli 

 considerable speed, and on occasion can swim below the surface 

 with scarcely less rapidity. 



They may often be observed in the act of running on the 

 water, and while they are thus employed, they often fall victims 

 to some hungry fish, which is attracted by the circling ripples 

 occasioned by the movement of the Hmbs. Fly-fishers, who are 

 acquainted with the habits of fishes and insects, take advantage 

 of their knowledge, and by causing their imitation Caddis Fly 

 to ripple over the surface, or even to sink beneath it, like the 

 veritable insect, delude the unsuspecting fish into swallowing a 

 hook instead of a fly. 



In process of time the eggs are hatched, and the young larvae 

 then proceed to construct houses in which they can dwell. These 

 houses are formed of various materials and are of various shapes, 

 and, indeed, not only does each species have its own particular 

 form of house, but there is considerable variety even in the houses 

 of a single species. In the accompanying illustration are shown 

 a number of the nests formed by the Caddis Fly in its larval 

 state, together with the perfect insects. All the figures have been 

 drawn from actual specimens, some of which are in the British 

 Museum, and others in my own collection. The materials of 

 which the nest is made, depend greatly on the locality in which 

 the insect is hatched, and in a rather large series of Caddis 

 nests now before me, there are some very remarkable instances 

 of the manner in which the insect has been obliged to adapt 

 itself to circumstances. The most common style of case is that 

 which is composed of a number of sticks and grass stems laid 

 longitudinally upon each other like the fasces of the Roman 

 consuls. Of these I have specimens of various sizes and shapes, 

 some being barely half an inch long, while others measure four 



