Insect Island – Tobias caddisfly

We commemorate the extinct caddisflies that fell victim to human industrialization. May your death inspire us humans to create an insect-friendly world.


The small brown Tobias caddisfly (wing length up to 13 mm) was found exclusively on the banks of the Middle Rhine between Cologne and Mainz and on the Main River. It was last spotted in 1938. Little is known about the Tobias caddisfly. We know that the Tobias caddisfly was nocturnal. Females laid their eggs in clusters, preferably in or above the water. The larvae hatched after about three weeks.

It is believed that the Tobias caddisfly became extinct due to decades of sewage pollution in the Rhine and Main rivers after World War II.

The sixth mass extinction is already in full swing. Today, 1 million animals and plants worldwide are threatened with extinction.


A sculpture of the Tobias caddisfly, formed from steel wire, commemorates this little brown insect. Over time, the steel rusts and the sculpture itself becomes overgrown with ivy: the insect island itself provides food and habitat for insects. On the one hand, the sculpture is a memorial to creatures that have disappeared from view in the anthropocentric perspective, a symbol of loss and a silent form of mourning. At the same time, the sculpture is a human offering of reparation to insects and shows the residence of nature when it is given the space it needs.

UPCOMING

July 2025

Berlin, Deutschland
03.07.-03.08.2025
Insect Island sculpture by Dan Dansen at the outdoor exhibtion Multi Species Campus on site at Blooming Campus at the Free University of Berlin.
open daily 4:00-9:00p.m
After the closing of the exhibition the sculpture will remain on site.
At Blooming Campus of FU Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Berlin


Berlin, Deutschland
02.07.2025
Insect Island sculpture by Dan Dansen at the outdoor exhibtion Multi Species Campus on site at Blooming Campus at the Free University of Berlin.
4:00 p.m opening with sparkling wine and welcoming words by the main living lab, coordinator professor Tanja Straka at Theaterhof in front of Rostlaube at Free University of Berlin
4:30 p.m. the tour to all artworks across the Blooming Campus
6:00 food and mingeling at Theaterhof of FU Berlin
7:00 screening of Lili Kuschel's film Neighbors at lecture hall 1 of Rostlaube
At Blooming Campus/Theaterhof of FU Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Berlin