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Family Hydroptilidae

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.