Could Caddisfly Silk Be Used to Make Waterproof Band-Aids?

Caddisfly Silk Magic (Photo by Fred Hayes)

"Like silkworm moths, butterflies and spiders, caddisfly larvae spin silk, but they do so underwater instead on dry land. Now, University of Utah researchers have discovered why the fly's silk is sticky when wet and how that may make it valuable as an adhesive tape during surgery." And here I thought caddis were just great trout food.

Waterproof Band-Aids?

Russell Stewart is an associate professor of bioengineering and principal author of a new study to unravel the mystery of what makes a caddisflies' silk sticky underwater, a property that makes it very unique and could someday lead to the development of waterproof adhesives. Good luck getting that Band-Aid off in the shower!

Cased Caddis Spin A Mean Web

We've all seen them, those cool casings that caddis, like the Brachycentrus echo isolated from the lower Provo River near Salt Lake City used in this study, make to protect themselves in the larval stage. The secret is in the silk that is "phosphorylated" to make it sticky when wet in order to collect little pebbles and debris from the stream bed. The funny thing is that these crafty caddis figured this out 150 million years ago, while us higher life forms are just catching on.

Makes You Wonder

So the next time you head to the great outdoors, fly fishing, hiking, biking or just taking a walk in the woods - stop and look around. Stop and think. You never know, you just might learn a thing or two from good ol' mother nature.

Score One For Caddis! Go Caddis, Go Caddis....

p.s. If you fancy fly tying and would like to pay tribute to these bioengineering geniuses, check out our collection of caddis fly tying videos which includes a few cased caddis patterns.

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