The Fly Larva That Thinks It's a Stonemason
Caddisfly larvae build themselves a protective house of stones with some of the stickiest sticky tape on Earth
By Lydia Chain
This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
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Creek-dwelling caddisfly larvae make themselves a case of stones to protect themselves from predators and weigh themselves down so they aren’t swept downstream. Gland under their chins work like a tape dispenser, producing a type of sticky silk that bonds the pebbles together. So far, humans have struggled to make a tape that bonds while wet, but these larvae have no trouble constructing their case entirely underwater. If scientists could mimic the silk, they might be able to repair things in other soggy spots—the human body, for example.
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