A Macroinvertebrate Search

ALDERFLY
AQUATICWORMS
CADDISFLY
CRANEFLY
CRAYFISH
DAMSELFLY
DOBSONFLY
DRAGONFLY
LEECH
MAYFLY
MIDGE
MOSQUITOLARVA
MUSSEL
RIFFLEBEETLE
SALMONFLY
SIDESWIMMER
SNAIL
STONEFLY
WATERPENNY

Macroinvertebrates are a diverse group of animals, ranging from insects and crustaceans to molluscs and worms. They have been around for about 500 million years and some were even living in our waterways before the dinosaurs! Different aquatic macroinvertebrates have different tolerance levels to water pollution. Some water critters are sensitive to pollution, which means if the waterway was to become polluted they will die or move elsewhere. Other critters are tolerant to pollution, meaning they can survive in polluted water. By sampling a waterway for macroinvertebrates and identifying what’s there you will get a good indication of water quality and habitat condition. This word search contains the names of the different kinds of macroinvertebrate one might find in a typical freshwater stream. Good Luck!

Try to find all 19 words on this board.

I Y C T C Y L F S I D D A C O
T P H W A T E R P E N N Y M D
T S D A M S E L F L Y K O T E
L M I Y L F N O M L A S E Y C
I R I D R D B X H U Q T L C D
A O U D E G E X Z U S F R R B
N W J N G S W R I H E S A K S
S C K Y I E W T F N C G E G I
T I N E D S O I A L O E M L S
O T V X M L J R M N Y J E R P
N A P Y A R C G F M A Y F L Y
E U I R I F F L E B E E T L E
F Q V R G P Y O W Z Q R K Z X
L A X Y Y L F N O S B O D F S
Y D V H S I F Y A R C W S T Q
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Answer Key for A Macroinvertebrate Search

X
Y
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1# # # # # Y L F S I D D A C #
2# # # W A T E R P E N N Y M #
3# S D A M S E L F L Y # O # #
4L M I Y L F N O M L A S # Y #
5I R I D # D # # # U Q # L # D
6A O # D E # E # # U S F # R #
7N W # # G S # R I H E S A # #
8S C # # # E W T F N C G E # #
9T I # # # # O I A L O E # L #
10O T # # # L # R M N Y # E # #
11N A # # A # C # F M A Y F L Y
12E U # R I F F L E B E E T L E
13F Q V # # # Y # # # # R # # #
14L A # # Y L F N O S B O D # #
15Y # # H S I F Y A R C # # # #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  43se
AQUATICWORMS  214n
CADDISFLY  141w
CRANEFLY  711ne
CRAYFISH  1115w
DAMSELFLY  33e
DOBSONFLY  1314w
DRAGONFLY  155sw
LEECH  1411nw
MAYFLY  1011e
MIDGE  24se
MOSQUITOLARVA  88sw
MUSSEL  94se
RIFFLEBEETLE  412e
SALMONFLY  124w
SIDESWIMMER  23se
SNAIL  18n
STONEFLY  18s
WATERPENNY  42e