Helicopsyche is the genus for the snail-like cased caddisflies.  A few
pictures can be found here:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/52473/bgimage

They can be frustrating when you're looking for hydrobiids.  Both
Rafinesque and Lea described forms as snails.

> Off the subject of mollusks, but......the mention of caddisfly casings
> brings to mind some unusual earrings I saw that were made of these.  The
> flies were given sand composed of ground malachite (green) and lapis (blue)
> to compose their casings with, and they did.  I don't know how fragile such
> a casing is, and wonder if the jewelry craftsperson somehow reinforced the
> casings to make them durable.

Yes, caddisfly cases crumble easily in the wild.

A similar trick you can try is to put out colored construction paper
near an active paper wasp or hornet nest.  They can chew it up and
incorporate it into the nest.  With a lot of patience and a good
aquarium, you might be able to do something like that with a Xenophora
or one of the assorted mollusks that cement sand onto their shells.

--
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"

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