| Author | Wallace, I.D, Wallace, B. & Phillipson, G.N. |
| Year | 1990 |
| Title | A Key to the Case-bearing Caddis Larvae of Britain and Ireland |
| ISBN | 0 900386 49 5 |
| Series | FBA Scientific Publication |
| Type | Book/Report |
| How Complete | Covers all case-bearing UK species whose larvae were known at the time, although early instars not covered, and some groups cannot be distinguished in until last instar. |
| Source | FBA Scientific Publication, No. 51, 237pp, Freshwater Biological Association |
| Illustrations | line drawings accompany the text |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | The main body of the work is the dichotomous keys. Each family begins with a short account, including any particular difficulties associated with its identification. A table of ranges of head widths is given for all the species in each instar. Instar I is not covered, but the remaining instars (II-V usually) are keyed (usually). Different instars of a species may key out in different places. Habitat and distribution notes and sometimes warnings about variation, additional confirmatory characters and/or a description of the case, are given for each species. Larvae of almost all species are at an identifiable stage between March and May. Pupal cases are also often identifiable. Note: now replaced by the 2003 edition. |
| Errata, Corrigenda & Comments | A completely blank page is left before some (but not all) families, eg 41, 207, 226. This seems to be correct. |
| Examine |  Stereo Microscope ( Compound Microscope is also useful) |
| Specimen Preparation | Narcotised in soda water (or in a dry tube with CO2 gas) or killed (preferably after narcotisation), fixed and preserved in 70-80% IMS (alcohol). Both larva and case are needed. Specimens over 10 years old, even if kept in darkness, may be discoloured and hard to identify. Carefully remove larva from case. Gently pushing the larva back into its tube first usually unhooks the anal proleg claws. |
| Identification difficulty | Needs care. Gills can be very hard to see in spirit specimens. Eyepiece graticule required to measure head capsule etc. |
