FAMILY HYDROPTIUD/E 



This group deserves only a word. They are the smallest of 

 the caddis flies, none of them possessing a wing expanse of more 

 than ten millimeters. They look in form much like some of the 

 tineid moths, and possess long fringes to the wings just as do 

 some of these moths. They are attracted by lights in the houses 

 near the water, sometimes in great numbers. The larvae make 

 very small cases, which are almost seed-like in appearance and 

 are composed of silk dotted with very fine grains of sand. The 

 larvae are destitute of breathing filaments (probably breathing 

 through the general surface of the skin), and are found amongst 

 water plants or on the surface of stones at the bottom. They 

 have very short legs and a distended abdomen. The cases are 

 provided with a slit at each end, and the larvae turn around inside 

 the case with facility. 



