The Spicipalpia are a suborder of

Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

, the caddisflies. The four families included in this suborder all have the character of pointed maxillary palps in the adults. The larvae of the different families have varying lifestyles, from free-living to case-making, but all construct cases in their final larval

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ...

for pupation or at an earlier instar as a precocial pupation behavior. Although recognized under some phylogenies, molecular analysis has shown this group is likely not monophyletic.

External links

Tree Of Life Trichoptera Page
Insect suborders {{Trichoptera-stub