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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
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Word History
First Known Use
1735, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near caddis fly
Cite this Entry
“Caddis fly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caddis%20fly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.
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
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