THE XERCES SOCIETY FOR INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION

Aquatic Invertebrates in Pacific Northwest Freshwater Wetlands
An Identification Guide and Educational Resource

In the Pacific Northwest, the strongcase makers are a rare and unusual family of caddisflies. They are typically found in gravel and sand of small streams and springs in Oregon, California, and Southwestern states, but are not likely to be encountered in Washington, Idaho or Montana. They are not common in wetlands.

The "strong case" of this family allows the larvae to burrow and scavenge for a living. Some use reinforcement techniques unique among the caddisflies; their cases resist collapse even under pressure from your fingers. Most caddisflies use silk to glue rocks or pieces of plants together and line the inside of their cases, but the strongcase makers use "glue" between pieces of rock and put cross braces between joints to add strength.

The strongcase maker genera are so diverse that it is difficult to give a general description for the family. For the most part, their gills are in tufts of short, thin, finger-like filaments. The variety within this family makes identification to the genus level relatively easy.