Altogether Different: Caddis Case Jewelry

Jewelry-maker Kathy Stout of Wheeling, West Virginia raises caddisflies in her basement, encouraging them to construct their cases not with gravel but with bits of precious stones. “It took several years for Ben Stout to perfect the in-home stream, which involves a series of trays containing various types of precious and semi-precious case-building materials, PVC pipe, spray nozzles and drains. Water is filtered, de-chlorinated, and cooled to keep it between 55 and 60 degrees. ‘Each case takes a year to build,’ said Kathy Stout. ‘We raised abut 2,000 caddis here last year, but we have the capacity for a lot more.'” Rick Steelhammer in the Sunday Gazette-Mail.
The best part? When the year-long process is complete, Stout opens the windows and lets the adult caddis fly out.