caddis fly

noun

: any of an order (Trichoptera) of insects with four membranous usually hairy wings, vestigial mouthparts, slender many-jointed antennae, and aquatic larvae compare caddisworm

Examples of caddis fly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What happens in the stream and beside it is tightly linked, Milner found: Willow catkins are food for caddis flies, and alder roots provide chironomids with safe homes. —Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023

Try a Terrestrial Pattern to Catch Trout on the Surface There are certainly mayflies, caddis flies, and stoneflies that hatch right through the summer months and into the fall. —Morgan Lyle, Field & Stream, 13 July 2023

Stillwater fishing can be dry-fly fishing, often for caddis flies or stillwater mayflies such as callibaetis, or, close to the shore, beetles and ants. —Morgan Lyle, Field & Stream, 13 July 2023

Arriving in the 1980s were mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies; stream ecologists call this trio EPT, from the orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Tricoptera. —Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1735, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

caddis fly

noun

cad·​dis fly

ˈkad-əs-

: any of an order of four-winged insects with a larva which lives in water in a silk case covered especially with bits of wood, gravel, sand, or plant matter