Habitat

     H. betteni, along with most caddisflies, are commonly located in or around streams and rivers throughout the world (particularly throughout North America). Specifically, adult caddisflies are found in vegetation near streams and rivers, whereas the larvae are found directly in or close to streams/rivers (McLeod, 2005). H. betteni are generally located near a little faster moving waters. H. betteni are most active at night, but are more scarce during the day in which they are hidden in surrounding vegetation.

    Most caddisflies, such as H. betteni, have adapted quite well to their niche they dwell in. The running water of the streams/rivers play many key roles in their survival and life cycles. Particularly, it plays a key role in the feeding and growth of the larvae, which is further explained on the nutrition of H. betteni (Fowler).

    H. betteni plays a pretty vital role in its niche. H. betteni lives among many other organisms: other types of caddisflies, several differents types of insects, fish, and several others. While this is so, H. betteni serves as food for the fish and other aquatic vertebrates found in its habitat (Meyer, 2005). They are valuable to the nutrition and energy flow in the ecosystem it lives in. Another interesting role H. betteni can play is that it gives us the ability to study different environmental changes, such as the amount of pollution, found in its habitat. By studying the amount of larvae and its ability to live in different qualities of rivers/streams, a large amount of data can be obtained (Holzenthal, 2010).




  


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