One of my favorite caddisflies. These little guys make spiral-shaped mobile homes. From Pratt&rs

One of my favorite caddisflies. These little guys make spiral-shaped mobile homes. From Pratt’s Fall, near Syracuse, NY. (Trichoptera, Helicopsychidae, Helicopsyche)

Helicopsychidae are clingers, with the larvae living in the portable cases pictured above. Because of how similar their cases look to snail shells, this family was actually originally described as a snail. The helical shape of the case improves resistance to crushing (Voshell, JR. 2002).