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Hello everyone , I have to plan a project for the uni this semester in a module called preparation for research. I`ll have to do the Project next year , but I should know and plan what I want the Project to be about soon. I want to do it about caddisflies but I have a problem to decide what exactly I should make the research on. I think to look at what the casebuilders are using to build their cases and try to provide them with different materials. But I also want to see any other Ideas. Could you guys share any ideas or anything that sounds interesting for you!

Thank you in Advance !

Cheers: Stan

The only other thing I can think of is studying their diet by providing different foods to see what they prefer or how it affects, growth, casebuilding, etc. Good luck!

I thought about including this - Thank you !

Cheers: Stan

Stan,

I would be interested in hearing about what you might find in terms of casebuilding. Does a species always use the same materials or do they use what's available? A few years back I was sitting on a sweeper hanging out over the river. I looked down to see what I thought was some type of aquatic plant. The only problem was that the plants seemed to be moving. When I looked closer there were caddis crawling along the part of the tree that had fallen below the water surface. They had attached plant material to themselves somehow and it camaouflaged them...I thought they were a small plant and not something edible, that is if I were a predator of some kind. When I looked closer they had also used some dead, yellowed, pine like needles and had incorporated this in to their attire. I was wondering if they just did it because it was available and just made it up or what? How would they know that there was this material there otherwise?
The tree looked like it was dying and this wouldn't happen all the time...In other words, it wasn't fall and these needles were there only because the tree had problems.

Good luck!

Spence

Stan - while there is a wealth of info on caddis case building (search trichoptera casebuilding in google scholar) there is still alot to be learned. And I suspect you will enjoy it too! Let us know how it turns out.

creno

Stan,
there are folks who put caddis in an aquarium along with colored gravel, sometimes of semi-precious stones like turquoise. the caddis build their cases of the gravel. after they leave, the cases are made into brooches and earrings. while they will never rival what Shawn turns out, they are cute. perhaps that will fit your project, and you will have a bonus in the form of a present for your girlfriend, whom you will neglect while conducting this research...;-)

Thank you all guys for the answers! Casey P I like your thinking you are wise man :-). I`ll tell you guys when I start the project what exactly I`ll do and how.

Cheers: Stan

Stan, I'm pretty sure that Casey thinks like a girl. And there is a very good reason for this. But I'll agree on her wisdom. ;>

O-o Sorry about that :-) !

Cheers :Stan

No problem, I think. I believe she likes flying below the radar most of the time, and may fuss at me for blowing her cover. But she seems a forgiving sort, so I hope for absolution.

Stan,
are Bulgarian names like English ones? we have some that both men and women use. Chris, Robin, Pat, and Casey are a few examples. when i was a kid, it was a "boy's name" and i was teased unmercifully. now it has its uses because fly fishing and baseball are both dominated by men, many of whom (not on THIS board) can tell you more about a lady's sweater size than the color of her eyes. in disguise, anyone can offer an opinion and have only that opinion discussed--now that is a luxury. :-) you all have no idea how refreshing it was to find Troutnut and get to know some folks and some fly fishing on an equal footing.

BTW, what program in your university would give you such latitude in choosing a topic? it sounds very enlightened.

Stan, I have had rather extensive conversations with Kathy Stout, a woman who makes jewelry from caddis cases. Not only are her pieces fascinating but her process equally if not more so. Her relationship with her flies is a bit of a tough-love affair - she gives them what they need to live healthy lives and make pretty cases, but she disciplines them if they choose to go on strike until they get back to work.

The general idea is this: The caddis need food to live, but they build cases as a defense mechanism in response to stress. So she needs to manage their food and stress levels (which are inversely related) to optimize their productivity. Also, she contends that they like stones with rounder edges to those with sharper edges, so she sometimes needs to stress larva more if she wants them to build with sharper stones. I should mention that she only works with certain brown sedges that make their cases from gravel (I'll leave others to compensate for my entomological shortcomings). Here are a few short pieces on Kathy:

http://longlake.sals.edu/index.php/2007/05/31/caddis-fly-jewelry/
http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2008/12/altogether-different-caddis-ca.html

-Shawn