Two species of the family, Helicopsyche bacescui and H. sperata, are distributed within the processed area; H. bacescui is common in East- and South-Eastern Europe, H. sperata is known from Switzerland and Italy (including Sicily); three other species of the genus Helicopsyche have been recorded from Mediterranean countries and isles (Malicky 2004). The larva documented in this key has been collected from Wolfram Graf in Serbia and is supposed to be H. bacescui.

Larvae of the family are easily recognised by the characteristic case, which is helically curved like a snail-shell and built of sand grains. Even the larval body is contorted. In contrast to other Trichoptera species the anal claw consists of a row of short blunt teeth.

The larvae of Helicopsyche can be found in hygropetric sites in mountainous areas as well as at shores of greater lakes (Wesenberg-Lund 1943, Waringer & Graf 1997). The nutrition behaviour is supposed to resemble the North-American species H. borealis, which scrapes on epilithic algae (Feminella & Resh 1991, cited by Waringer & Graf 1997).