A. E. Anderson Maskell,Four feet, wings, and fins, Boston, D. Lothrop, 1879, p. 494-495.
Everything is not fish that lives in the water. »
« Sure, and I brought the craythers up to Miss Grace. She kin tell, me, I know. »
« O Tousin Grace they’re tunnin’ little fish with shells, ticks and little bits of ‘tones all ober ‘em ! » exclaimed Rose.
« Frank says he don’t believe that they are fish at all, » said May.
« Then what are they ? » said Grace, taking the cup, and carefully examining the subjects.
« They look more like some kind of a worm , » said Frank.
« You are right, for they are Caddis worms. They are the larva of the Caddicefly. »
« Where they hatched with those shells and sticks on their backs ? » asked May.
« No, they made those cases for themselves. They are the houses which the little worms live in. »
« How did they stick them together ? » asked May.
« By silken threads secreted in their own bodies. The insect in a perfect state, is a fly with four hairy membranous wings and long antenna. They frequent marshy places, being very active in their movements, though awkward in their flight. They belong to the family Phryganidae and to the order Neuraptera. »
« If you will wait until I go to my room, » said Mr Dumas, « I will bring down a microscope that we may examine these little cases more minutely.
One case is composed entirely of shells, another of bark, and this one of sticks and seeds, » added Mr. Dumas, handing over the microscope to Grace.