And everything he can find

Stella Louise Hook, Daniel Carter Beard, Harry Beard, Little People and Their Homes in Meadows, Woods and Waters, New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1888, p. 102-103.

Somewhat like the day-flies are the caddice-flies or water-moths, so called because they are shaped a little like a real moth with rouded wings ( Fig. 6, page 92). But they lead a curious life in the water. They are not formed quite like other grubs, who all wear hard, horny skins, almost like a beetle’s shell ; but they are soft, and would soon be snapped up by the greedy dragon-grubs or fishes if they were unprotected. However, the caddice is pretty well able to take care of himself. Whether he watched the snails in their safe, strong shells till he wondered why he couldn’t have a shell too, or whether the fishes told him about the wonderful building of some sea-creatures, I do not know ; but in some way the caddice has learned to make a very nice little home for himself. It matters very little what material he has, so he uses anything that comes handy ; and constructs a little case out of sticks, stones, straws, shells- anything and everything he can find. Sometimes the caddice finds a little shell with a live creature in it ; but that makes no difference, on it goes with the rest of the things to help form the case. All theses are fastened together with strong silk, for the caddice can spin like a caterpillar, and thus make a very nice covering inded, in which he lives secure. He moves freely about with it, however, as a snail does with its shell, keeping his head out at one of the open ends, ready to seize his prey. Besides living on other insects, the caddice eats water-plants as well ; thus he gets along very comfortably in the midst of plenty, and well protected with this curious case. But like all the water-sprites, the caddice feels that he cannot live there forever. He, too , must visit the strange air-world, and take a merry flight in the sunshine before his life ends ; so he does a stange thing, unlike the proceeding of all hi skin. Most of them just push off their outer skin when they are ready..