Frit Fly vs Sand-Case Caddisfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Frit Fly Sand-Case Caddisfly
Scientific Name Oscinella frit Sericostoma personatum
Order Diptera Trichoptera
Family Chloropidae Sericostomatidae
Size 1.5-2 mm 10-14 mm
Habitat Farmland Rivers & Streams
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Europe, temperate worldwide Europe
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Frit Fly

A tiny fly that is a major pest of oat crops and ryegrass. Larvae bore into plant stems causing 'dead heart'. Named from the Swedish word for grain. Multiple generations per year.

💡

Did You Know?

Despite being only 1.5mm long, it can destroy entire crops of oats by killing the growing shoot inside each stem.

Sand-Case Caddisfly

A caddisfly whose larvae build smooth, curved cases entirely from fine sand grains cemented with silk. Adults are dark with hairy wings.

💡

Did You Know?

The curved sand-grain cases built by these larvae are so precisely constructed they resemble tiny miniature architectural works.