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Family Leptoceridae

These are caddis flies with very long antennae, and usually with very hairy wings. It is a large family and widely distributed. About forty species are known from North America, where the genus Setodes is best represented. Some of the caddis flies are very handsome, and also resemble tineid moths, especially the little flies of the genus Adela and its allies. Setodes exquisita Walker well deserves its specific name. The larvae are found both in ponds and in running streams, but more commonly in the latter. They are not often found in very swiftly running torrents, since their food is largely living vegetation, which does not grow in such streams. The case is free, and is ordinarily composed of sand, nearly cylindrical, but slightly curved, although there are some cases of different shape.