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Story: Life in fresh water

Food net

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Food net

Silken nets are used to capture food drifting on the current by the filter-feeding larvae (not visible) of the caddisfly. The sides of this net (diameter 8 millimetres) are attached to moss fragments. The larva spends most of its time in its home – a tube-like structure formed from gravel beneath the net. It emerges periodically to check the net for food.

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by Alex Huryn

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How to cite this page

Roger Young, Life in fresh water – Invertebrates, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/11638/food-net (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Roger Young, published 1 March 2009.