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caddis fly

British  

noun

  1. any small mothlike insect of the order Trichoptera, having two pairs of hairy wings and aquatic larvae (caddis worms)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of caddis fly

C17: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The creek is teeming with caddis flies, a primary food for wild fish, as well as trout ranging in size from 1-inch fry to 10 inches.

From Los Angeles Times

Once upon a time, perhaps some 300 million years ago, a tiny stream-dwelling insect akin to a caddis fly crawled from the water and began to live on mosses and other land plants.

From New York Times

Her colleague, Cathy Wiss, coordinator of the organization’s water quality monitoring program, sifted through wet, brown leaves and pointed at a wriggling black insect: the larva of a common variety of caddis fly.

From Washington Post

One concern for officials is that the snails can gather in dense concentrations and are capable of blanketing rocks that are critical habitat for species like mayflies and caddis flies, food sources for trout.

From Washington Times

At Diamond, the bugs in the muck run the gamut from aquatic worms, leeches, flatworms, scuds, mayflies, caddis flies, mosquitoes, water mites, snails and clams to dragonflies and beetles.

From Seattle Times