Nature’s secret glue

At Dulcie, we are drawn to projects that reveal how living systems think through material. Trichotech, by Teresa Colombo, is one such project, a conceptual, biomimetic adhesive inspired by caddisfly larvae, whose underwater silk challenges conventional ideas of adhesion, strength and repair.

Caddisfly larvae live fully submerged and protect themselves by building tiny cases from sand, plant fibres and other fragments. They glue these pieces together with a silk that hardens instantly on contact with metal ions in water. The resulting filament is flexible, adhesive and remarkably strong. Trichotech draws inspiration from this process, translating it into a reactive adhesive that activates through its environment and can bond across a wide range of surfaces with precision and efficiency.

What resonates strongly with us at Dulcie is the project’s focus on repair and care. Conceived as an alternative to conventional adhesives, Trichotech explores bonding that is sensitive, precise and reversible, particularly suited to fragile, valuable or historically significant materials. This perspective aligns with our interest in longevity, material stewardship and circularity, where preservation is an active practice.

The project is also deeply personal. Teresa was inspired by her great-grandfather, Professor Giampaolo Moretti, an Italian entomologist who dedicated his life to Trichoptera. His research, now housed at the University of Perugia, provided the foundation for raising and observing caddisfly larvae in a controlled environment. Watching the larvae assemble their cases revealed a material logic that aligns closely with Dulcie’s ethos: using local matter, responding to environmental conditions and producing structures that are resilient and biodegradable.

Particularly striking is the silk’s natural polymerisation. It transforms from a liquid protein into a solid adhesive without external energy, a process that mirrors reactive industrial adhesives while operating with an efficiency refined through evolution. Through experimentation and conceptual prototyping, Trichotech translates this phenomenon into a speculative design language, imagining future systems for sustainable repair, micro-assembly and conservation.

What continues to draw us to projects like Trichotech is not only the material itself but the conditions it is shaped by. Caddisfly silk does not resist water; it is formed through it. Its strength and elasticity emerge in an environment often treated as a constraint, yet here it becomes an enabling force. This thinking extends to living systems more broadly. When materials must perform under immersion, repetition and movement, protection and performance blur, favouring responsiveness and adaptability over occlusion and permanence.

Much of our ongoing research at Dulcie is grounded in these ideas. By observing how marine-derived systems behave under stress, friction and flow, we explore material languages formed with water rather than despite it, systems that remain effective where conventional approaches fail.

Trichotech reflects a way of working we value, attentive observation, respect for biological intelligence and learning from overlooked organisms. It reminds us that responsive material futures can emerge from noticing the quiet, often invisible processes of the natural world.

References: Teresa Colombo