» Genus Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges)
12 species (Psychoglypha avigo, Psychoglypha bellus, Psychoglypha browni, Psychoglypha klamathi, Psychoglypha leechi, Psychoglypha mazamae, Psychoglypha ormiae, Psychoglypha pritus, Psychoglypha rossi, Psychoglypha schmidi, Psychoglypha schuhi, Psychoglypha smithi)
aren't included.
Common Names
These caddisflies may be important to the winter angler because they are one of the only insects around. Gary LaFontaine relays an interesting correspondence about this genus in Caddisflies:
Dr. George Roemhild explained to me how he finds these winter caddisflies in February and March: "They crawl up on the snowbanks, but when the sun hits their dark wings they melt down out of sight. That's how I collect them, by walking along looking for holes in the snow."
I will keep an eye out this winter and hopefully collect some specimens to photograph.Hatching BehaviorTime Of Day (?): Warmest part of the day
Habitat: Warm shallows
On bright winter days when the trout move into the shallows to sun themselves, these caddisflies may pick the same destination to emerge and the trout will feed.Larva & Pupa BiologyDiet: Leaf matter, algae, dead animals
The larvae are the most important stage of Psychoglypha. They are especially prone to behavioral drift (Behavioral drift: The nymphs and larvae of many aquatic insects sometimes release their grip on the bottom and drift downstream for a while with synchronized timing. This phenomenon increases their vulnerability to trout just like emergence, but it is invisible to the angler above the surface. In many species it occurs daily, most often just after dusk or just before dawn.) and, unlike most species, they do it during the daytime.
Pictures of 2 Caddisfly Specimens in the Genus Psychoglypha:
Male Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges) Caddisfly Adult
View 2 PicturesThis Psychoglypha adult was found clinging to my garage door in the evening on April 9, 2013. It measures 21 mm in length, from the front of head to the end of wings. It is my hope that Creno will be able to identify it to species based on the image of its genitalia. However, if other images are required for a species ID, the specimen is available, so they can be easily taken. Thanks, Roger Rohrbeck, Mercer Island, WA. Your Thoughts On Psychoglypha:
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