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.

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

X
Y
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1# # S A L M O N F L Y # # # #
2# M # # C R A N E F L Y # # #
3Y # O # # # # # # # # # # # #
4# L # S I D E S W I M M E R #
5# # F # Q # O Y L # # # # # Y
6# Y # N # U # B L E H C E E L
7# L L # O # I Y S F S # # G F
8# # I F # G # T L O R S # D S
9# # # A Y # A # O F N E U I I
10# # # # N A # R # L E F D M D
11Y L F L E S M A D # A N L L D
12E L T E E B E L F F I R O Y A
13# # # C R A Y F I S H # V T C
14# # S M R O W C I T A U Q A S
15# W A T E R P E N N Y # # # #
Word X Y Direction
ALDERFLY  1512nw
AQUATICWORMS  1414w
CADDISFLY  1513n
CRANEFLY  52e
CRAYFISH  413e
DAMSELFLY  911w
DOBSONFLY  64se
DRAGONFLY  911nw
LEECH  156w
MAYFLY  711nw
MIDGE  1410n
MOSQUITOLARVA  88se
MUSSEL  1410nw
RIFFLEBEETLE  1212w
SALMONFLY  31e
SIDESWIMMER  44e
SNAIL  611nw
STONEFLY  1514nw
WATERPENNY  215e