From: giraffe@longneck.inc (giraffe~⇔)
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.artpics
Subject: Re: Critters - KitchenBert_AndSoTheyBuild11-iej.jpg
Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 03:16:38 GMT

>*
>*From a educational book for children
>*And So They Build
>*Written & illustrated by Bert Kitchen
>*
>*ISBN 1-56402-502-0


KitchenBert_AndSoTheyBuild11-iej

A caddis-fly larva is soft and vulnerable
and so it builds.....

The adult caddis fly lives around streams and rivers
throughout the world. The female lays her eggs in
water. As soon as a larva hatches from its egg it
begins to secrete a sticky silk thread from a gland
near its mouth and winds it around its body. Then
it presses itself onto nearby objects such as small
shells, stones, and grains of sand, which stick to
the silk to form a hard, protective, well-camouflaged
case, which is much smaller than a person's little
finger. The case is open at both ends, allowing water
to flow through so that the larva can breathe.

The larva lives inside the case for about a year,
adding to it as it grows. When it is ready to emerge,
it bites its way out with its strong jaws, floats to
the water's surface, and takes to the air as a caddis
fly.