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Jewel Encased Caddis (Trichopterae)

These caddis have been removed from their natural cases and kept in an environment containing precious stones and metals.

Artist Hubert Duprat undertook this project in the 1980's having taken inspiration from his work on gold bearing rivers in South Western France. His work conjures up the image of our native caddis incorporating Welsh gold dust into their cases in rivers such as the Afon Mawddach and the Cothi .

Duprat's work illustrates beautifully how these species instinctively utilise their surrounding materials to create a protective case by cementing chosen aggregrates onto the tube of silk which they weave - see below -

Background Reading

Interview with Hubert Duprat - http://www.leonardo.info/isast/articles/duprat/duprat.html

The Beginner’s Guide to Caddis (Order Trichoptera) from the AES website by Ian Wallace in PDF form

Check this publication at Google Books