caddisfly

American  

[kad-is-flahy] / ˈkæd ɪsˌflaɪ /

Or caddicefly

noun

plural

caddisflies

1. any of numerous aquatic insects constituting the order Trichoptera, having two pairs of membranous, often hairy wings and superficially resembling moths.

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Etymology

Origin of caddisfly

First recorded in 1780–90; see origin at caddisworm, fly ¹

Example Sentences

The limnephilus pati, a species of caddisfly, was discovered during a survey at Cors Goch Nature Reserve on Anglesey.

From BBC • Sep. 17, 2025

Two years later she was sampling fish there and found one of the bugs, a caddisfly, in a fish’s gut.

From Scientific American • Apr. 1, 2022

Xia says he spends roughly $750,000 on Burmese amber per year, and grateful scientists like Wang have named species of cockroach, froghopper, parasitoid fly, and caddisfly for him.

From Science Magazine • May 23, 2019

For instance, caddisfly larvae, which sometimes measure only a tenth of an inch long, may be the world’s tiniest artisans.

From National Geographic • Jun. 23, 2018

After a while he will cling to some weed near the surface, and spin a chrysalis, from which the caddisfly will break forth.

From Harper's Young People, October 5, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various