Troutnut.com Fly Fishing for Trout Home
User Password
or register.
Scientific name search:

Caddisfly Genus Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges)

Taxonomic Navigation -?-
Species in PsychoglyphaNumber of SpecimensNumber of Pictures
Psychoglypha alascensisSnow Sedge13
Psychoglypha subborealisSnow Sedge00

12 species aren't included.
Common Names
Pictures Below
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 Behavior


Time 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 Biology


Diet: 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:

Female Psychoglypha alascensis (Snow Sedge) Caddisfly AdultFemale Psychoglypha alascensis (Snow Sedge) Caddisfly Adult View 3 PicturesThis specimen was 22 mm.
Collected September 15, 2013 from Mystery Creek #178 in Idaho
Added to Troutnut.com by Entoman on September 23, 2013
Male Psychoglypha (Snow Sedges) Caddisfly AdultMale 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.
Collected April 9, 2013 from Spring Brook in WA
Added to Troutnut.com by Taxon on April 12, 2013

Your Thoughts On Psychoglypha:

You must log in at the top of the page to post. If you haven't registered yet, it's this easy:

Username:          Email:

Password:    Confirm Password:

I am at least 13 years old and agree to the rules.
Top 10 Fly Hatches
Top Gift Shop Designs
Top Insect Specimens
Miscellaneous Sites