We are so lucky to live in a city where there are still streams clean enough to have an abundance of wildlife!
I did some illustrations of a few creatures found just down the end of our pathway.
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This is a Caddisfly (as if you didn't know that :) Illustrated in Photoshop CS6 with my trusty wacom. |
I just read this interview by Caddisfly expert Kjell Arne Johanson, a professor and head of the entomology department at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.
"Little known by the general public, Caddisflies are an ancient group of aquatic insects that are important indicators of ecological health".
Caddisfly larvae live for around 11 months before they pupate, so they accumulate pollution from the water and are good for extracting chemicals dating back several months. Of course, pollution will affect larvae and they will die if some pollutants get too high. Some species react in different ways.
Are they important ecologically?
They have been able to adapt to many different kinds of water systems and they are very important for water ecosystems and above the water. They are a food resource for many kinds of organisms, including bats, birds, amphibians, fish, and other insects, such as diving beetles and dragonfly larvae. By occupying so many different niches they are available in far higher degree than other organisms.
We should try to save as many microhabitats as possible because there are many species that are dependent on them. There might be quite many species within a small area, and that diversity should be saved in order to keep ecosystems intact.
Anything else we should know about caddisflies?
They are quite beautiful. Although many are gray-brownish there are a lot of species that are more or less colorful, reminding of the colorful moths. They are fascinating in many respects. They build these larval cases from different kinds of material, and they use what they find. There are species-specific requirements, but they will try to build cases from what they have around them.
So there you go. Next time you are out taking the dog for a walk or playing with the kids in the park, take some time out to have a look for these little critters they are truly wonderful!