Arthropod Versailles

There’s no point even trying to top this gorgeously wrought description by my hello-future-girlfriend over at Bioephemera:

The aquatic caddisfly constructs a shell-like “case” for itself out of debris in its environment. For years, artist Herbert Duprat has been supplying his caddisfly corps with top-grade building materials…

There’s even a video of a caddisfly case in progress, with the larvae perched like Smaug on a huge heap of gold and pearls, scrabbling and gluing away….

I used to collect caddisfly larvae in streams, although I hadn’t thought about them in years. I think the mica-faceted blue-grey caddis-houses of the Pacific Northwest are every bit as beautiful as these baroque arthopod Versailleses.

Aesthetic Outsourcing: Arthropod Artisans [Bioephemera] : Bibliodyssey : Zymoglyphic Curator